KIT Malthouse is the Conservative Party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for North West Hampshire for the 2015 general election.

The 48-year-old, who is currently the Deputy Mayor of London responsible for business and enterprise, is hoping to succeed long-serving MP Sir George Young.

Kit, who was born in Liverpool on October 27, 1966, attended Liverpool College before studying politics and economics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

He then moved to London to train as a chartered accountant at Touche Ross and Company (now Deloitte), qualifying in 2004. In 1998, he was elected to Westminster City Council, and his first major job on the council was to head up the social services department. He was also elected as deputy leader of the council and Cabinet member for finance during his career at the local authority.

In May 2008, Kit was elected to the London Assembly, where he was appointed as Deputy Mayor for Policing. Following his re-election in 2012, London Mayor Boris Johnson appointed him as Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise.

Kit has three children – two boys and a girl – with Canadian national wife Juliana Farha.

1. Who was your childhood hero and why? I was obsessive about Gerald Durrell, the naturalist and explorer – I devoured his books, even searching second-hand book shops for out-of-print titles. His seemed like a life of fascination and daring.

2. What is your most precious possession, and why is it important to you? My photos and videos – mainly of my wife and children.

3. What was the first record/CD you bought? Breaking Glass by Hazel O’Connor.

4. What is the radio/television show you hate to miss? Gardeners’ World. Monty Don and Carol Klein calm me down on a Friday night.

5. What is your favourite film? I’m a sucker for Cameron Crowe movies – Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous are his two best.

6. What is your pet hate? I cannot abide rudeness.

7. What are you reading at the moment? A biography called Nelson, Britannia’s God of War by Andrew Lambert and a book by Peter Oborne called The Rise of Political Lying, which is fascinating and shocking.

8. If you were choosing a last meal, what would it be? Roast chicken, good chips and chilled white wine with my wife and kids.

9. If you could meet anyone from history, who would it be? Albert Einstein or Eric Morecambe – both geniuses in their own way.

10. If you had a time machine, where would it take you? The Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge on the morning of February 28, 1953, to witness the moment of inspiration when DNA was discovered by Watson and Crick.

11. If you were stranded on a desert island, what luxury would you choose to have with you? A dog.

12. What sports team do you support? Liverpool FC.

13. What was your first job? Washing up in a Liverpool restaurant over Christmas – just me and my Brillo pad until 2am.

14. If you could take over someone’s job for the day, whose job would you choose? The editor of The Times.

15. What worries you the most? “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” – Leo Buscaglia.

16. What is your proudest moment? I’ve witnessed the birth of three beautiful human beings, who all remain a constant source of joy and wonder.

17. What would you like your epitaph to be? He tried and failed, and tried again.

18. What’s your guilty pleasure? Bubblegum pop music.

19. What one thing could change society for the better? Free lifetime education for all.

20. What three words best describe you? Ask my wife.