60 seconds with Dave Rowntree

LP: What should you be doing instead of this interview?

DR: Sleeping. Just got back from Conference, and waiting for a car to take me to Sky News. How I'm going to stay awake until midnight I've no idea.

LP: Who is your hero?

DR: Antoine de Saint Exupéry. He was a writer, pilot, and philosopher.

LP: What item would you save from your house if it was burning down?

DR: My computer, unless it was the thing that was on fire.

LP: If you hadn’t been in one of the most successful bands in British history and currently looking to become an MP, you’d be a…

DR: very bitter man.

LP: Your best quality?

DR: I'm patient. If you have talent you can be good at something. If you have patience, you can be good at anything.

LP: Your biggest fear?

DR: String. It's so.... stringy.

LP: What’s the biggest challenge facing Britain today?

DR: Winning people back from issue politics to party politics.

LP: Your soap box issue?

DR: Stopping the record industry extending the length of copyright.

LP: What do you think about the virtual internet police recently deployed by the Chinese government to “crack down on illicit activities”? Should the internet be policed?

DR: I suppose it's inevitable in a dictatorship. The Chinese record on human rights is one of the worst, but they may now be moving in the right direction. We need to keep applying friendly pressure.

LP: Who or what would you put in Room 101?

DR: String. See above.

LP: Lager or a lemonade and lime?

DR: Tea.

LP: We have to ask – when was the last time you saw Damon Graham or Alex?

DR: Saw Alex yesterday, Graham last week. Damon is in Paris, but I'll see him on Monday.

LP: If you were invisible for a day what would you do?

DR: Right now, the answer would still involve sleeping.

LP: What’s the best bit of advice you could give to someone a little younger than you?

DR: Have nothing to do with string.