MARIA Caulfield has said she is not afraid to risk the wrath of her party in order to stand up for her constituents.

The Conservative candidate for Lewes said she is regularly called in to the whips’ office in Westminster for going head to head with fellow Tories.

Maria Caulfield, who has served less than two years as an MP, said that publicly questioning the Prime Minister over Southern Rail in the Commons led to one such meeting with the party’s enforcers – government whips.

In a wide-ranging interview, the former nurse backed controversial Tory plans for changes to social care funding, but took aim at the government over NHS waste and school underfunding as well as its response to Southern Rail.

She also hit back at her Liberal Democrat opponent, Kelly-Marie Blundell, who has made play of being the only candidate in the race to live within the constituency, accusing her of being “parachuted in from Guildford six months ago.”

Ms Caulfield said: “I think there’s dubious ties to the community there.

“I’ve lived 500 yards from the constituency boundary for over 20 years, I’ve worked in the local hospital, I’ve been a Macmillan nurse covering a patch in the constituency, and Lewes town is from where I get the train to London, it’s where I go to church, it’s my local town.”

Lewes is predicted to be a tight race. Formerly a Liberal Democrat stronghold, represented since 1997 by Norman Baker, the seat went to the Conservatives in 2015.

This year the Liberal Democrat vote is expected to be buoyed by a progressive alliance in which the Green Party has not fielded a candidate.

In 2015 Ms Caulfield received just 1,083 votes more than Mr Baker. The Green candidate received 2,784 votes.

Asked whether the alliance concerned her, Ms Caulfield said: “I’m not too worried about who else is or isn’t standing because my type of campaign isn’t about who you shouldn’t vote for it’s about why you should vote for me.”

But she acknowledged it would be tight, adding: “We’re not taking anything for granted. It’s going to be one of those seats that people will be watching on the night.”

The former nurse insisted that a great deal of investment had been made in the NHS in her constituency, but was unafraid to criticise waste and bureaucracy in the service.

She said: “You’ve got manager after manager and each one has a secretary and a PA. A nurse will be on £24,000, a manager will be on £70,000, and then we wonder why we’ve got a shortage of nurses and doctors. That has not been tackled.”

In an aside, Ms Caulfield said she did not have even a minute’s forewarning the Prime Minister was going to call the election.

She said: “It was the last thing I thought was going to happen.

“I got a text saying the PM was about to make a speech. I watched it on the news the same as everyone else.

“I was really surprised, given that she had said there wouldn’t be an election, but I could see with the legislation coming up that she needed a strong mandate. I can see why she did it.”

FORMER NURSE NOT AFRAID TO CRITICISE OWN GOVERNMENT

How is the campaign going?

It’s going well. Some people are still making up their minds but a lot of people seem to have made their minds up already and Theresa May seems to be very popular.

Do you think recent social care announcements have hurt your chances?

No. I think some pensioners are slightly worried by the announcements but when you explain what the proposals are they are reassured.

A lot of people don’t realise you have to sell your house now if you want to pay for care in a home.

When you explain currently you’re only allowed to keep £23,000 and we’re changing that to £100,000 people are realising they’ll be able to keep more of the money they’ve worked hard for and saved.

You think more pensioners will be better off?

More people, more families will be able to keep more money. But I welcomed the announcement about the cap.

What is your pitch to voters on the doorstep?

One, on the national scene it’s a clear choice in who you want to be Prime Minister for the next few years, and the only way to get Theresa May is to vote for the Conservative candidate.

Two, in my time as the local MP I’ve kick-started projects. I’m part of a group that’s secured £75 million in funding for the A27, and now Chris Grayling has secured some funding so we can start working up options for dualling.

Newhaven has been a town which has declined over the last couple of decades. In the two years I’ve been MP we’ve got it turned into an Enterprise Zone and we’ve got large businesses planning to move into the quayside.

In places like Newick and Wivelsfield I’ve been hand in glove with constituents opposing new developments to protect green spaces. If I had five years I’d be able to achieve a lot more.

Has the government’s inaction on Southern Rail hurt your chances?

I have stood up to the Government to get trains back to the town which we’ve successfully done. We’ve still got to resolve the dispute but people see they have an MP who stands up for them. I even asked a question at Prime Minister’s Questions demanding we got our trains back.

Did you get a talking to from the whips on that one?

Yes. I’m regularly in the whips’ office being talked to about a number of things. I think my record shows I do stand up for local residents.

You have faced criticism from Liberal Democrat candidate Kelly-Marie Blundell for living outside the constituency, how do you respond?

This old chestnut.

She was parachuted in from Guildford with six months to go to a General Election. I think there’s dubious ties to the community there.

I’ve lived 500 yards from the constituency boundary for over 20 years, I’ve worked in the local hospital, I’ve been a Macmillan nurse covering a patch in the constituency, and Lewes town is from where I get the train to London, it’s where I go to church, it’s my local town.

How did you feel when you learned the Greens weren’t fielding a candidate in Lewes?

I’m not too worried about who else is or isn’t standing because my type of campaign isn’t about who you shouldn’t vote for it’s about why you should vote for me.

Has the NHS been underfunded in this area?

There is a funding crisis, and there’s not enough money able to go into frontline services but we have put more money in than ever before and it is getting extra money. The trouble is the demand is growing.

So has the government put in enough money?

Well, in our manifesto we’re putting in more than any other party in the next parliament. But we still haven’t tackled the waste in the NHS, that’s one of the reasons I came into politics.

No other organisation has the levels of bureaucracy the NHS has. Every hospital has its own HR department – if you were working in any other sector you’d have one for a whole region. You’ve got manager after manager and each one has a secretary and a PA. A nurse will be on £24,000, a manager will be on £70,000, and then we wonder why we’ve got a shortage of nurses and doctors. That has not been tackled.

So why hasn’t the Conservative government done more to tackle it?

The approach in 2010 was to devolve those powers, so the Health Secretary doesn’t take such a hands on approach. But there is lots of investment going in locally.

Is there a funding crisis in schools?

We have had chronic underfunding for decades because we’re classed as a rural authority. Our capacity to make savings now is virtually gone, schools are cut to the bone.

I’ve been very vocal in my support of East Sussex schools. I’ve raised it at PMQs and said the situation is dire. The new funding formula was supposed to address this and it hasn’t so I was pleased our manifesto said no school would be worse off in cash terms.

On Brexit, is it fair to say you’re a strong voice for Leave?

People say “you’re a hard Brexiteer” but I’m not at all. If David Cameron had come back with a better deal I could have been tempted to vote Remain but he didn’t. There was nothing that I could see on the table so I voted to Leave. I passionately believe the only person who’ll get us a good deal is Theresa May.

Do you think you’re going to win?

I think it’s going to be very close and we’re not taking anything for granted. It’s going to be one of those seats that people will be watching on the night.