I am Ali Miraj, 32, British, Muslim and a Conservative. I joined the Conservative party in December 1997, scared at what a new Labour victory would do to Britain. I was a fresh face, brimming with ideas and committed to the Tories regaining power as soon as possible.

I had hoped as a young Muslim that by being a Tory I would send a positive message that people like me are keen to make a contribution to British political life. I also host a flagship political affairs programme for the Islam Channel, which is my latest attempt to encourage Muslims to become more involved with mainstream political issues.

I was elected in May 1998 to my local council and at the age of 23 was one of the country’s youngest councillors. In Hillingdon I learnt my craft. I was always told: know your brief and serve your apprenticeship and you will go far. On that basis I campaigned in the 2001 general election, standing on a milk crate in the town centre of Aberavon, near Swansea, calling for William Hague’s common sense revolution in a seat where my supporters told me that Labour could put up a donkey and still beat me.

I managed to secure a 3.9% swing to the Conservatives. By the time I got selected for the challenging marginal seat of Watford in October 2002, Iain Duncan Smith was in charge and things weren’t going well. As a loyal party member I have always stood up for my party leaders: the day Duncan Smith made his “unite or die” speech in November 2002 it was me who went on Newsnight alongside Sir Malcolm Rifkind to defend him.

I have fought two general elections, served as a councillor and on two policy review commissions, advised the shadow foreign affairs team and, until very recently, been one of David Cameron’s handpicked A-list candidates. I feel deeply disappointed that all this service should be overlooked in favour of an unfortunate decision by the present leadership to misconstrue one single meeting.

I backed Cameron for the leadership of the Conservative party in 2005 before he declared his intention to stand because I believed he was the right man for the job: young, highly articulate, intelligent and presentable. My friends thought I was mad and that I was committing political suicide, as David Davis was the clear favourite. But I told them that Cameron was the right choice for the party.

Cameron asked me to introduce him at the official launch of his campaign in September 2005. I remember him stepping off the platform and giving Samantha, his wife, a peck on the cheek and the first thing he asked was: “Where is Ali? I want to thank him.” I rated him for that. In my view he had the makings of a great leader.

The question Cameron should be asking himself now is how I’ve gone from being so loyal and committed to being so disillusioned that I’ve decided to sacrifice my political career in the vain hope that the leadership might yet see sense and replace spin with substance. This has always been about the party, not about me.

But in light of the recent unsubstantiated allegations levelled against me, I must explain myself. Despite my initial apprehension and continuing unease about revealing topics discussed in “private” between Cameron and myself, I have been left with no alternative other than to respond to his disclosures.

First, the “demand” for a peerage which he claimed that I made. Until now I had declined to comment as I believe private discussions should remain just that. However, Cameron clearly does not share my view and, given that the discussions are now the subject of public debate, I am obliged to set the record straight. So, to clarify, a meeting was held at Cameron’s request following an article I had given to him four days earlier which highlighted my concerns about his leadership style and tactics - I urged him to reevaluate both.

My article, published on the ConservativeHome.com website, centred on Cameron’s use of gimmickry and his obsession with public relations. I am deeply disillusioned because I believe substance and credibility have been replaced by PR and box-ticking. Examples being the selection of an unknown quantity in the Ealing Southall by-election and the recent decision to go to Rwanda in the middle of the worst floods in Britain in 150 years, to name just two. The PR issue is leaving many Tories dissatisfied and concerned about the future. I thought Cameron wanted to see me to talk about these concerns; I had no personal agenda whatsoever. However, I left the meeting dissatisfied and with no comfort that he had taken the issues I had raised seriously.

Desperate for Cameron to heed my concerns and, as a last resort, I went public as a way of encouraging an exchange of opinion within the party, in the hope that he might become more amenable to the benefits of a strategic change.

So what did we discuss? Among other options, and in the context of where I could be best placed to help, yes the House of Lords was discussed, as were the Commons and other platforms. The list is fairly nonexhaustive; in politics there are either the green benches or the red ones.

No “demand” for a seat in the Lords was made by me, no blackmail tactics were employed and if Cameron perceived these discussions to be a demand then this was an error of his judgment. This is not the first time I have discussed how I could best be deployed. We had similar talks in January this year.

What is not commonly known is that I was, in fact, asked whether I would consider accepting a seat in the Lords in 2005 following the 7/7 London bombings tragedy, when the party was seeking to appoint a “Muslim” parliamentarian to that House. The approach was made by a present member of the shadow cabinet and I declined it. I am choosing not to disclose names at this time, but should the party elect to have selective amnesia on this issue, naming the individual concerned will be the only logical response.

I myself have never upheld playing the “race” card and, had I thought it beneficial to do so, that would have been the perfect opportunity. Not surprisingly, I refused. I have always firmly believed that politicians should be elected or appointed purely on merit. Furthermore, I strongly felt that my talents were better suited to the Commons and I wanted to play an active role in advising on policy and shaping the future direction of the Conservative party towards the victory we are all so keen to achieve.

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