The family lawyer entrusted by David Cameron with delivering a by-election victory over Labour in Crewe & Nantwich dismissed gibes that he was a Tory toff from Cheshire’s hunting, shooting and fishing set yesterday.

Edward Timpson, 34, is the son of John Timpson, the head of a multi-million-pound shoe repair and key-cutting business that was established in the 19th century.

Sensing weakness, his opponents have opened up attacks on several fronts, with Tamsin Dunwoody, the Labour Party candidate, dismissing him as “some rich Tory kid”. Mr Timpson has been ambushed by Labour activists in top hats and tails calling themselves the “Tarporley toffs”, a reference to a genteel Cheshire village associated with country sports not far from where he lives. Despite claiming to be the “local man”, his home is 13 miles (20 km) from Crewe in Kelsall, a commuter-belt village.

Mr Timpson emerged from visiting the Jubilee House Day Centre in Crewe with a weary resignation to answer questions about his background. He acknowledges that he is privileged but vehemently denies that he is the braying, nice-but-dim country Conservative of his opponents’ imagination. A father of three, he attended the £23,000-a-year Uppingham School in Rutland and graduated from Durham University to go into law. He specialises in family law and the welfare of vulnerable children.

His inspiration, he told The Times, was the example set by his parents, John and Alex, who over a period of 30 years fostered more than 80 children. They also adopted two boys, both younger than Edward. Having to share his mother’s affections at such a time was, he suggested ruefully, an antidote to privilege. Many of the children were escaping abuse and other “very difficult starts in life”.

Mr Timpson said: “Even when money was tight we still fostered. It was just, rather than going on holiday to Spain, we went to what they called cultural trips to the Midlands.

“It is for other people to judge whether I am in or out of touch. As far as I am concerned I could not be more in touch with people of ordinary backgrounds, not just because of my childhood but also because of my professional life as a lawyer.”

On his website, he says: “My parents gave a great deal of their time and their love to the children they fostered. The love of a family is what matters, and people can make a difference to other people’s lives if they are willing to try. I trained in law so that I could help families going through rough patches, especially children who are vulnerable at times of break-up.”

Mr Timpson says that he is Cheshire born and bred and that his wife, Julia, gave birth to each of their children at Leighton Hospital in Crewe.

Shrugging off the “Tarporley toff” insult, Mr Timpson said: “I have had a good upbringing, but really what matters is what I have to offer now.”

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