DAN ROGERSON, a Guardian Country MP since 2005, is a Cornishman and, more precisely, a Bodmin man.

James Turner, that superlative writer about landscape, reckoned: "Bodmin is a town for early morning. Seen, then, from Cardinham Moor, in the rising sun in its valley, it is like a brown jewel."

Dan, like Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, was born in the old county town. Q was a Liberal, too.

Reading his Cambridge lectures, you get the impression he would have been at home in the House of Commons. In Cornish elections, he was often on the platform.

A young Winston Churchill, as a Liberal, came to Bodmin, speaking before a huge gathering, and staying overnight at Lanhydrock, then a Robartes stronghold.

This was my first meeting with Dan Rogerson – the seventh Cornish Liberal or Liberal Democrat MP (six men and a woman, Julia Goldsworthy, whom many saw as a rising star before her exit at the last general election) I have met in the last 50 or so years.

Eight, I suppose, if we count Isaac Foot, no longer in office but still a brilliant orator on the platform or the Methodist chapel pulpit on Sundays.

Voted

We talked at Dan's Bodmin home on a grey Sunday morning. Within minutes you recognise a real Cornishman, the kind of MP Robert Stephen Hawker of Morwenstow would have voted for.

He was educated at St Mary's Primary School in Bodmin and Bodmin School, now Bodmin College, after which he studied at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth where he obtained a BSc in politics.

Then, in 1996, Dan had his first job as a research assistant with Bedford Borough Council. While there he became a member of the borough council, standing, naturally, as a Liberal Democrat.

"Yes it was good experience for a Cornish lad. You were fighting Labour who were weak in Cornwall and you had a very cosmopolitan society."

Nineteen-eighty-eight saw another change of direction: this time to the De Montfort University, formerly the Leicester Polytechnic, where Dan was admissions officer.

It was in 2002 that his career moved up into a higher political gear, joining the campaigns and communications team of the Devon and Cornwall Liberal Democrats.

So on to 2005 when he became MP for North Cornwall, succeeding Paul Tyler, now Lord Tyler.

You get the feeling that he faced some stiff competition in his quest for the candidature. They clearly thought a well-known local man would stand the best chance of retaining the seat – and they were correct.

At this point I asked Dan: "How did you get into politics?"

He smiled: "In the 1980s I had this recollection of the family home … the disenchantment when we lost the seat and the general election. Great disappointment.

"When I was 16 I joined the party. Paul Tyler was then the candidate and I put leaflets in envelopes and knocked on a few doors, little realising that, 14 years or so later, I'd become the MP."

We went on to talk about his family life. "The family's important to me. I'm married to Heidi. We have been together since we were 15, at school in Bodmin.

"Heidi qualified as a teacher at North East Wales Institute and taught in Bedfordshire and Cornwall.

"We have three children, sons Mawgan, 7, and Jago, 4, and daughter Elowen 3. The boys attend St Mary's and Elowen attends Bodmin Pre-school, all following the path that I took.

"We are a close family and, as I spend Monday to Thursday in Westminster, being apart is difficult, but the children have grown up with the situation.

"Heidi does an amazing job in keeping everything on track as well as working part-time. She does two days a week at my Launceston office and looks after my diary. That's an important job.

"My parents both taught in the town. My father served on Cornwall County Council and my mother represents Bodmin Central on Cornwall Council. They became more politically active as they retired from teaching.

"Heidi's parents have been the mainstays of Bodmin's Horizon Club charity, which provides social opportunities for people with learning disabilities, for over 20 years.

"My interests outside politics centre on reading – whenever I get the time. I have been a big fan of blues music since my teens.

"In all honesty, time away from politics is spent with the family so there is little time for hobbies.

"I love the diversity of the 65 parishes of North Cornwall. Each community is different and has its own traditions and flavour. A lot of my childhood summers were spent at Daymer Bay, so that is a special place for me.

"The estuary ties in with the landscape. You have this lovely coastline, Brea Hill, St Enodoc Church … Betjeman Country. Looking back to my boyhood visits the sun shone always. And, of course, there are a lot of locations in and around Bodmin which relate to family."

I asked him about political heroes.

"David Penhaligon is an obvious hero to a Cornish Liberal of my generation. Though I was too young to know him personally, I came to know about him and admire him.

Roots

"His sense of place, his Cornish dimension which he brought to national debates and on radio and television. David demonstrated the importance of our roots.

"John Pardoe, too, is fondly remembered across the constituency.

"Farther afield I have always been intrigued by LBJ (Lyndon B Johnson) for what he achieved in domestic policy in the US, despite his being remembered for Vietnam.

"Also, Pierre Trudeau is a fascinating figure and a great Liberal."

Was Paul Tyler a difficult man to follow?

"Yes, big boots to fill," Dan replied, smiling again. "He'd won quite a lot of Conservative votes, too. Paul was a reassuring figure and gave me some very good advice.

"Being a local man helped in and around Bodmin but, in that first election, I had to spend more time introducing myself in places like Bude and Launceston."

How does he think the coalition Government is working?

"The coalition is certainly listening to many concerns which relate to Cornwall in terms of water rates, school funding, rural issues and so on.

"I believe that, however difficult it may be for me personally, it was the right thing to do in terms of stability and the economy.

"In delivering on raising the income tax threshold, increasing the state pension, keeping the 50p top rate of tax, I feel we are delivering on the fairness which we set out as our main objective.

"It is not the most comfortable experience, but we have a job to do."

And what are Dan's hope's for the future in Cornwall?

"I want to see more investment in Cornwall, better-paid jobs, a greater recognition of Cornwall's history and culture and a fairer settlement for those on lower and middle incomes."