“I won’t miss the abuse”

A former Conservative MP and minister who lost his seat in July's general election said he had not missed the abuse he received on social media.

Tom Pursglove, who had represented Corby in Northamptonshire since 2015, was defeated by Labour's Lee Barron.

Two months later, he told the BBC that he was still looking for a new job.

He added that he “does not regret” his time in Parliament and is “really proud” of his work and his team.

After clearing his desk in Westminster, Mr Pursglove was glad to leave behind the so-called keyboard warriors who he said had used venom and bile against him.

He said: “I just don’t miss the social media abuse and intolerance.

“When I think about the interaction on site, 99.5% of the people there were absolutely brilliant, [but] There is a small core that is often quite disingenuous and thinks everything you do is wrong because of their political coloring.”

He admitted that many of the people he got on well with in the House of Commons were not from the same political party and that he could have civilised conversations with them.

He added: “If we could get along and have a debate at the end of the working day, that would be a really good thing.

“I think we need more of this kind of politics in our society.”

Since July there has been a lot of cleanup work to be done.

“The focus of my efforts is to close the office and ensure that my excellent employees find new jobs,” he said.

“It's not just about the MP who loses that night, it's about his staff too, and that's actually one of the most difficult things to deal with.”

As for his own future, “he is currently having some initial discussions and is hoping that maybe I can land something.”

“I really want to do something in the area of ​​disability inclusion,” he added.

“This is a great passion for me. It has been a great privilege to have been Minister for Disabled People.”

Mr. Pursglove is only 35 and said he has very little adult experience outside the political world.

The morning after the election, he realized that his life had changed.

“This day was the first day since I was 18 that I did not hold elected office,” he said.

“The prevailing feeling I have is that I have made peace with what happened.

“I don’t regret my time in this role, I’m really proud of the work we’ve done.

“I'm absolutely sure I didn't do everything right, but we always did our best and that's all you can do.”

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