We must have Northern Ireland politicians at centre of debate

Leaving any political party is difficult, particularly one for which you have worked so hard and given so much. However, it became evident to me that the best way to pursue a new type of politics in Northern Ireland, which combines 'Shared Future' issues at Northern Ireland level with global responsibility at UK level, was with the Conservative Party.

Under David Cameron it is clear that the Conservatives now see Northern Ireland not as a 'peripheral issue', but as part of the country they wish to govern.

That widens the choice for the electorate and offers us all a chance to influence UK Government policy in a way never before possible.

Thus the Conservatives are the progressive voice in Northern Ireland politics, the chance to deliver a type of politics which is genuinely different from what has gone before.

The Conservatives offer change because they stand for genuinely post-sectarian politics in Northern Ireland and also for a strong response to the main issues of the next decade: tackling social exclusion, delivering financial sustainability and taking a responsible attitude to climate change.

These require influence, not just at local and Assembly level but also at Westminster where the key decisions on child-poverty targets, taxation and environmental agreements are made.

The choice at the next election is clear: we can leave in power a Government which has run out of ideas and competence, or we can vote for change and elect the Conservatives.

People in Northern Ireland should have that choice just as everywhere else in the UK.

The central issue of the next General Election is finance - and it is also crucial to Northern Ireland.

Again the choice is clear: it is between a Government which is dishonest on the state of public finances and one which is not.

Gordon Brown failed as Chancellor during the boom to save the money he would need as Prime Minister during the bust - mostly because he denied the bust would ever take place.

The public in Northern Ireland recognises the problem, understands the need to tackle inefficiencies in public service delivery and must have the chance to vote for the party which will be honest about what is necessary.

We must have politicians from Northern Ireland at the centre of that debate, taking responsibility for the tough choices necessary to rebalance the public finances in Northern Ireland so that frontline public services can be protected as best as possible.

Of huge relevance also is the social justice agenda taken forward by the Centre for Social Justice since 2004.

The work I will undertake with the centre will focus on social breakdown, educational underachievement, economic dependency, addiction and debt - analysing the policies already put forward in the context of Northern Ireland and seeking anecdotal evidence from communities across Belfast about what the state and other organisations should and should not do to intervene.

Right across the UK, 12 years of Labour Government have seen the creation of a 'client state' and of whole communities of people who are state-dependent rather than self-reliant.

Far from an academic exercise, this work will give voice to local communities as an example of the new type of politics on offer in Northern Ireland - one which takes the real issues which affect people's lives and puts them at the heart of the Government's agenda.

The people of Northern Ireland have never before had a genuine chance to change Government and to change politics.

Instead of the frontline of the old politics of orange and green, at this election they will be faced with a stark choice of propping up a tired and directionless Government, or voting for change.

That is the new type of politics on offer - one which has the real potential to improve people's lives and one which has my full support.