"if the roof blows off -you have no choice but to repair it, the choice you have is how you control the terms of the loan."

Just short of 5 years ago Labour party candidate Paul Blomfield narrowly beat Liberal democrat Paul Scriven, to be elected MP for Sheffield central. In a few weeks- time we go to the polls again with Blomfield looking to win by a bigger margin. With Scriven now passing his days in the house of Lords, Blomfield is sitting comfortably in position to be re-elected. I caught up with him this week to ask if after 5 years of Tory government, is Britain a better place to live than when Labour was in office. He told me emphatically that we have become poorer and more unequal. He claimed that Labour was already leading a recovery when they lost the election and that the recovery was not only hampered by the Government cutting too far and too fast, with huge social consequences and the economy pushed into recession for the early years of the Government.

 I reminded Paul that the Green party are claiming to be the only anti austerity party, he replied by saying “if you have a house and the roof blows off - you have no option but to repair it, the choice you have is how you control the terms of the loan”. He went on to say that Labour would reduce the deficit without undermining the economy or leaving people afraid to switch on the heating. The deficit reduction under Labour, he said, would not be at the expense of the people.

 I asked Paul if he had seen any evidence of the Green surge on the doorstep in Sheffield, and if he had, did he attribute it to students and young people leaving the Lib Dems, or were the Greens taking a share of the labour vote. He said their membership had doubled from a very low base and had then plateaued. It was an expression of dissatisfaction at conventional politics he thought, as well as the flip side of the Ukip vote. The surge has put the Green party under scrutiny and people were now wondering if their policies are credible. He thought it was unfortunate that up and down the country, the Greens are only targeting Labour seats, as this would help the Tories into Government.

With the election only weeks away, I asked Mr Blomfield why he thought Labour weren’t clear leaders in the polls.

He emphasised that, although Labour lost the last election, no one won it. For the last five years the Tories have relentlessly blamed Labour for the crash and the media have largely followed suit, but until the rather convenient financial crisis, the Tories had agreed with Labours spending. He said he failed to see how Labour were to blame for sub-prime letting in America and the collapse of Lehman brothers, yet even today, almost five years after they took office, the Conservatives maintain that it was Labours fault. We talked about how the Tory led government had consistently made claims about the thousands of new Doctors and midwives they had introduced despite all those medics being trained in initiatives that Labour put in place. Paul said despite the narrow polls there has rarely been a wider gap in the two party’s policies.

Next I asked if Paul thought that the TV debates would or should go ahead. He was clear that the while the elections should go ahead, they actually made little difference to the outcome. He said that most people claimed Clegg had won the debates in 2010, yet on polling day Clegg mania did not translate to seats. The election shouldn’t be a popularity show on TV but decided on policies.

Talking of policies, I pointed out the article published that day which claimed immigration was by ½ million since 2011 and asked are people really angry about immigration or is it an argument invented and perpetuated in the Ukip obsesses media?

Paul was clear, people raise the issue a lot. He said it is a complicated issue that the media and right wing party’s tried to reduce to simple arguments but when most people bring up the immigration argument, the thing that they are actually angry about isn’t caused by immigration. He gave the example of Polish people. The Poles came over when there was work and when it dried up, most of them went home, but people still complain about the Poles taking our jobs.

He also said that when in 2012 he was treated for a brain tumour, none of the Doctors or consultants that treated him were Brits and that the NHS would not be able to function without immigration.

Sheffield Central Constituency has 36,000 students, many of whom are from outside the UK and Paul says these students are as important as any other constituent. He said that the city’s international students bring £120m to the local economy and are responsible for around 6,500 jobs in the city as a result of them being here. While many of the students let down by Clegg’s broken promises will have graduated and moved on many will remember them, and Ed Miliband’s promise last week to cut student fees to £6k was an immediate measure, keeping the door open to further change, and evidence that Labour will not make commitments they can’t keep.

With many tipping Clegg could lose his seat in Sheffield I asked if Labour candidate Oliver Coppard was capable of winning the seat. Paul said that Oliver was running a great campaign to take what has been a traditionally Tory seat for decades, and still is effectively Tory today with Nick Clegg as the MP.

On Paul’s own aspirations, I made reference to recent claims that he was positioning for a cabinet position and was unable to make his own choices as a result. I asked “do you consider yourself to be a local politician or would you like a seat at Ed Miliband’s table? With half a wry smile Paul said that when he first stood in 2010 he was concerned about the lack of trust in politics and wanted to explore ways to rebuild relationships with people. Since being elected he is proud of coordinating cross party agreements that created enough pressure that they led to changes in the way payday lenders are regulated. He has also fought hard locally to ensure the bridge at Sheffield train station was kept open to the public and worked tirelessly on council estates like Wybourn and Manor, visiting schools and workplaces in those areas where he gets chance to speak to many of the 40,000 doors he has knock on to connect with the public. He did recognise that someone has to take on Shadow Ministerial jobs, but it wasn’t something he was seeking.

I was just asking Pauls thoughts on the suggestion of capping benefits on more than three children when his assistant reminded Paul that his next meeting had arrived. In spite of his next appointment waiting Paul told me the policy was an outrage and will undoubtedly lead to an increase in child poverty.

Without appearing contemptuous, smug or overly confident Paul Blomfield seemed happy with the work he has done and I think he firmly believes he will be re-elected. I suspect he is right. Whether his party will enjoy the same success remains to be seen.