When he first hit the campaign trail, setting out to become a new MEP for the South West, Tory Ashley Fox thought he would be knocking on doors trying to get people worked up about Working Time Directives and the Lisbon Treaty.

But then something far less dull hit the headlines – the furore around MPs' expense claims – and suddenly the Bristol solicitor and city councillor found the whole election turned on its head.

He says: "It changed everything.

"Suddenly people were very angry. The expenses crisis virtually derailed the entire campaign."

Ashley knows a thing or two about debating claims – he's worked for the past 17 years as a solicitor specialising in insurance claims.

But as he reflects on the past few months, he believes the whole debacle has seriously damaged the public's faith in politicians.

"It damaged all three main parties, but I think Labour were punished the worst because their alleged misdemeanours seem to be the most serious," he says.

"Claiming for a duck pond might make the Tories look ridiculous, but the electorate can see the difference between that and claiming for a mortgage that you've finished paying.

"But it is possible that I won my seat as a result of Labour's share of the vote disappearing so drastically."

Even the scandals of the past few weeks failed to bring voters out in force, with around a third of people bothering to vote. So do the good folk of Bristol even care who their MEP is?

"Often not, and I think very few people would be able to tell you who their MEP is," he admits. "I blame this on the ridiculous way the MEP areas are set out.

"The six MEPs representing our region have to cover the entire South West, including the Isles of Scilly and even Gibraltar. That's absurd – people in Gloucestershire, for example, are closer to Manchester than they are to Penzance.

"That's why I think we should go back to the old way of dividing up MEPs' areas, which was roughly an MEP for each county."

Nonetheless, Ashley, who is the first Bristol-based MEP for 10 years, says he will do all he can to represent the needs of all his constituents across the region.

"I'll be concentrating on the issues that I believe are important," he says. "I wanted to be an MEP because the idea of public service genuinely appeals to me. Whether you're working in a charity shop, leading a troupe of Scouts or representing the region as an MEP, I believe this sense of public service does still exist in this country.

"I think it's important to stop too much power going over to Europe. But I don't believe we should pull out of Europe, as UKIP politicians do. I think Europe is often a force for good in terms of developing our prosperity and it has played an important role in keeping the peace in post-war Europe.

"But I will be pushing for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty – so that people can have their say on the treaty – which I believe would unduly increase the amount of power that the European Parliament has on British people."

The 39-year-old, who lives with his wife Julia, 37, and their two young children in Henleaze, has been a city councillor for Westbury-on-Trym for seven years, and he says he will remain a city councillor until his tenure runs out next May.

He insists that he can continue to represent his constituents' interests in his local ward.

"It's not an issue," he says. "I'll be abroad for just three days each week, and the vast majority of my correspondence with constituents takes place by email.

"I will be finishing my day job as a solicitor before my tenure as an MEP begins in July, so that will free up a lot of my time anyway.

"It's true that I may not be able to attend as many local council meetings, but I think it's the right thing to do – to serve out the rest of my city council tenure, which is due to end next May.

"The alternative is to force a local by-election, which would cost the taxpayer something like £14,000. I will cease to claim my allowances as a city councillor when I become an MEP.

"In fact, I've not had a single one of my constituents in Westbury-on-Trym complain about this. The only people wittering on about it are the media."

Perhaps, but nobody was complaining about Parliamentary expenses until a newspaper raised the issue.

"I think it was a good thing that the Telegraph was able to bring this behaviour out into the open," he admits. "But I think the whole thing went on too long.

"The fact that it was drawn out over weeks seriously damaged our Parliamentary democracy."