JESS PHILLIPS

But when I'm asked a question I will answer it honestly. There is no spin here.

In short, that politicians do or don't have families should no longer have any bearing on their abilities to hold office or to care more or less about the future of the country.

I have felt the force of what governments can do. I remember my elder son being in the first cohort of kids who got a free nursery place, I remember the palliative care my mother got at home as I watched her die.

My mum taught me the power of protest.

My childhood dream was to be prime minister.

In every single place I have campaigned in and every single place I have lived, people want some fairly basic things. They want to believe that they are safe, they want to know that their children will be educated and that if they are ill, they will be made better.

We've all got to discover the courage to ask the difficult questions about the future of our party and the future of the working-class communities who need a Labour government.

I've carried witty banners against laws that would curtail my freedoms.

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.

My family is just like most other families - we rise and fall on good and bad government policy. Politics affects us all.

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'm a believer in forgiveness. I have worked with people who have been in gangs and now dedicate their lives to helping inner city kids. I've run offender services with teachings of responsibility, empathy and understanding of the victims at their heart. I've seen people change.

My mum was always extremely political. I have fond memories of making signs as a child for the nuclear disarmament protests at Greenham Common, or helping her bake cakes for them.

Every day I receive messages that I'm not good enough, that I should lose my job.

People just don't believe we'll deliver what we say we will. They don't believe we want to listen or to understand their lives. And they don't believe we are able to do much to make their lives better.

Every time I speak up about anything to do with women or ethnic minorities, hundreds of messages pour in to attempt to silence or frighten me.

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

I am apoplectic that people no longer expect progress because for so long they have worn the clothes of decline.

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

The trouble for lots of politicians is they worry so much about everybody liking every single thing that they do.

I am Left-wing. I am a socialist. I believe in sharing wealth. There's no two ways about it.

There's not a single diet I haven't been on.

For a party of the left to win, people have to have believe that government, the state, can be on their side. When I was a young mother, Sure Start and tax credits weren't just a financial lifeline, they represented hope.

If a friend got a big promotion, I would outwardly congratulate them, but inside I would painfully compare myself with them and think that their success was a reflection on my failings.

I was never a ringleader, but I was willing, when asked questions, to give my opinion. And when you say things quite bluntly, it's very easy for people to hang their hats on that.