Politician

I want to give the message that anyone can succeed given the opportunity.

Politics has to be a place where women want to go.

I, for one, want to make sure we give every young person the chance to find the fuel for their confidence, something that will power their ambition.

You only have a true choice when you know what opportunities are out there and what qualifications you need.

Outside Westminster, political debate must seem like white noise that bears little relevance to people's everyday lives. But political choices made by the governments we elect have a real impact on how we live.

The government should only have one voice so the country knows what we stand for, so the world knows what we stand for.

When I speak to young people around the country, I'm impressed with the confidence and self-assuredness with which they look to the future and the range of options they consider beyond traditional routes.

Most people fall upon tough times at some point.

Only three per cent of people are born with a disability; the rest acquire it through accident or illness, but people come out of it. Thanks to medical advances, bodies heal.

I'm forever being told, and intrinsically understand, that people want to study at different times in their lives, often inspired to do so when they see the practical benefits of their studies.

What I like to see is people like Beyonce. Here is a woman who is bling-a-ding. Not only does she look like that and act like that - I've seen her perform, and I was blown away - but she is at the top of her profession.

Top performers in their fields such as Debbie Moore, Jean-Christophe Novelli, Deborah Meaden and Jo Malone, did not go to university and are just a handful of the individuals who show that with drive and determination, you can succeed by treading your own path.

We all have dreams, whether it be about success in our careers, improving our relationship with family and friends, or sorting out our finances.

My dad started off in scrap metal, real men doing men's jobs.

This is how I am. I'm happy with my friends, my family, my job.

If people are coming into the country to add an extra dimension, to bring skills and expertise with them, we have always been open to that.

When I was growing up, my parents put money into food, utility bills, and the mortgage.

First and foremost, we have to ensure that we have to get our own kids ready for work so that employers want to take them on.

For too long, people have had to neutralise or lose their accent out of fear of prejudicial treatment or to fit in. This has then led to a lack of regional accents, which has allowed this lazy stereotyping and prejudicial attitudes to prevail.

David Cameron, and before him Iain Duncan Smith, went out of their way to attract women into the party. Yes, we need to sell politics to more women, but quotas are not the way forward. You set a quota, what is the right quota? What is the wrong quota?