Nicola Sturgeon

Deputy First Minister of Scotland, SNP MSP for Glasgow

Scotland not only has massive economic strengths - we are financially strong too. This impressive track record in innovation, our wealth of natural resources and skilled workforce means that Scotland has every right to be confident about our economic prospects as an independent country.

Harry Cooper

A Brussels-based Brit

Dead-set on proving to their constituents that Ukip are actually fluffy toys when it comes to Europe, Despite Cameron's commitment to a referendum in the next Parliament, Ukip would die. Excuse my Belgian-French, but this is crap.

Emma Seery

Oxfam's head of Development Finance and Public Services

The shady and immoral global tax system is allowing a whopping £12trillion in wealth to be stashed in tax havens. Yes that's trillion. More importantly, these assets are sitting offshore and off the tax man's radar. If governments could get at it to tax it fairly, it could raise an extra £100billion, which is enough to make a serious dent in solving world poverty.

Karen Bryson

Actress

When I look back at my time on Shameless over the last three years, I honestly feel a warmth. The shows spirit, the characters, the writing, the crazy story lines, the constant pushing of boundaries. I am filled with a sense of pride, that I was part of such a groundbreaking iconic show. Like they say..." All good things, come to an end.

Robert DG Smith

Comment Editor of Impact Magazine

In an ideal world, Google should be paying more in tax, but don't hold your breath when international agreement is the only state-based solution. Instead, public pressure is the strongest force to persuade companies that it is in their interests to make a 'moral' contribution in tax.

Danielle Lowe

Student journalist at University of Kent

#thingsworsethanrape. That's right you read it correctly. This is not the kind of thing that victims of rape should have to deal with and read. It is the kind of thing that so many members of society should be protected from, because even if it doesn't directly affect you it may affect somebody you know.

Gideon Burrows

Author of Men Can Do It: The Real Reason Dads Don't Do Childcare

I hear all the time that the woman has chosen to stay at home and look after the children, while the man has chosen to go to work. Given all these overt and subtle pressures, I wonder whether these are really free choices at all. The only solution is for men to actively take up the mantle of childcare, right from the very earliest days of our children's life.

Jonathan Simpson

Labour Councillor in Camden, the Borough's Mayor and Music Champion

If people don't go to these venues then they will be unsustainable in the long run. If smaller venues go then it will make it almost impossible for budding musicians to get their first gig. What will happen then? Will we be left with a situation where acts have to audition for talent shows to get their break? It's a depressing thought.

Dame Mary Marsh

Founding Director, Clore Social Leadership Programme

There is a role that we all have to play in responding to the changing skills needs that we will continue to face, and the diversity of the sector will mean that different organisations will need to reflect on these broader themes and identify priorities and appropriate solutions that work for them.

Maria Sowter

Online Content Editor for non-profit volunteering NGO Frontier, passionate about travel, culture and digital media

A diverse ecosystem means a productive ecosystem, as each small part that makes up the larger whole plays a vital and important part in keeping the machine functioning. With millions of species in the world, biodiversity is one of our biggest economic resources for medicine, food and natural materials.

Andrew Doyle

Playwright and stand-up comedian

A spokesperson for the aggressive homosexual community summarised the local disappointment: "This isn't the first time that the tories have attacked us like this. We didn't choose to be aggressive homosexuals. We were born that way. When I came out of the womb the first thing I did was wink at the handsome doctor and slap the midwife."

James Hunt

Sports Journalism student, blogger, Sunderland fan

With extra money coming into the club from their lucrative deal with Puma, funds freed up from their deal with Emirates, not to mention increased TV revenue and the likely departure of a certain meerkat-a-like, it could be time for one last hurrah.

Joanne Shurvell

Founder and Director of PayneShurvell gallery and a travel and arts writer

The first long weekend in May was the ideal time to visit one of our favourite English towns as it was the launch of four festivals which run throughout the month until early June - the Brighton arts Festivals.

Orlando Seale

Actor and musician

Time travel was invented for festivals like How The Light Gets In (HTLGI). It's a maddeningly exciting place. Maddening because there's so much to see, hear, and taste, more than even the greediest of festival-goers could swallow, more than it seems possible to fit into one festival.

Chrissie Hynde

Lead singer of the Pretenders

Force-feeding causes the birds' livers to balloon to up to 10 times their normal size and become diseased with what is known as hepatic steatosis. In addition to being miserably ill with a painful and debilitating disease, the geese can barely breathe.

Ed Miliband

Leader of the Opposition

The choices we make will begin to determine whether we have a responsible capitalism or an irresponsible one. The events of the past three weeks have only served to underline how distant and distracted David Cameron, not to mention his divided party, has become from addressing these issues.

Charles Moore

Author, Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography

Mrs Thatcher came to realize that Reagan's strengths and mental abilities were very different from her own, but she never lost her underlying admiration for him.

Natalie Bennett

Green Party leader

One in 10 British workers is working fewer hours than they'd like to. Forced casualisation is a reality for millions. The 'underemployment rate' for 16-24-year-olds is 30%. Retail workers are being offered 12-hour weeks, at a level that puts them below the national insurance payment threshold.

Seth Freedman

Whistleblower at the centre of the UK gas price-fixing story

The knives are out for the energy companies in the press and political spheres alike, with public outrage increasing with every new revelation aired. But their anger is not directed solely at the likes of BP and Shell, but also at the lax regulatory environment which has allowed such alleged abuses to flourish for years.

Lorenzo Belenguer

Arts writer, visual artist, curator

Someone once said that the British lack passion. And someone replied to him: "look at their gardens. That is where they show their passion." Few countries display such vibrancy , dedication and eagerness to horticulture. Chelsea Flower Show is the finest example.