A couple of weeks back I met up with Edward Timpson, new MP for Crewe and Nantwich (Cheshire) for a feature for the Big Issue in the North. Much was made during the by-election campaign earlier this year about Timpson’s privileged roots – Labour Party activists waged a toe-curling battle against him clad in top hats and tails. It backfired spectacularly and the Tory overturned a huge Labour majority to take the seat, previously held for almost 35 years by Gwyneth Dunwoody.