Politician

My mum taught me the power of protest.

Pressure and protest is fine, but using fear and threats to force politicians to sing to a certain tune will be the death of our democracy.

Still, I love a campaign. I'm never happier than when I'm fighting shoulder to shoulder with our growing army of foot soldiers.

To liberate women and end violence is to break down the culture of power imbalance.

I like to go camping with my kids. I've got an amazing group of friends. Just like any 30-year-old woman I like to go out dancing, eating food, drinking with my mates, like any normal person.

Anyone standing for leader of the Labour party has a responsibility to speak truth, because without that we will never win power.

I am manic and that leads me to behave badly at times.

Any MP who deals with immigration a huge amount, which I do, is going to worry about giving powers to the executive to change immigration law without scrutiny.

I'm the kind of leader who would try to have honest and difficult conversations.

If we reduce the minimum voting age to 16, as we should, then people could be auto-registered when they are issued with a national insurance card.

I'm not usually one to heap praise on Jeremy Corbyn but I love that he doesn't drag his wife on stage for awkward snogs after his annual speech at the party conference.

The desire to look strong and decisive, instead of looking human, is the fatal flaw of so many politicians, and I will never understand why the favoured path of the political class is akin to a child with chocolate smeared on their face insisting that they didn't eat the edible Christmas tree ornaments while their parents slept.

I am a party worker ant - always have been, always will be.

I was born in Birmingham and raised in Birmingham.

If you cut me I bleed Birmingham. Others would say it's being a woman, but coming from Birmingham is the single most important part of my identity. I'm not always sure I feel English or British, but I always feel like a Brummie.

The Labour party is not perfect but I have seen in my own life how it is the greatest vehicle for positive hopeful social change.

The ability to say 'I was wrong' or to own up to your mistakes is very powerful. I teach my children that admitting fault is the quickest way to stop the problem, move on and get on with whatever it is you should be doing.

When you're left on the floor of a hospital gasping for breath, or you can't get your kid a school place, the simplest things are your idea of radical.

When working at Women's Aid, I met countless women whose families had not believed them when they spoke of their abuse at the hands of another loved one.

I don't know how all of my friends vote; it doesn't come up. But it would be a lie to say that I don't surround myself with people who have a similar moral code to mine.