Mehdi Hasan

Political director of The Huffington Post UK

Has the Tory right gone mad? Taken collective leave of its senses? The non-stop chatter about whether or not David Cameron will survive until 2015 and the endless speculation about whether it'll be Theresa May or Boris Johnson who succeeds him is bizarre. In fact, I find myself, weirdly, unusually and unexpectedly, coming to the defence of our poor prime minister.

James Emtage

Digital Producer, Director and sometime Writer

I didn't do an apprenticeship, but I did a close second, which was a trainee scheme offered by my first employer. Six months of constant mentoring and moving around different roles, learning how things ticked and why my efforts made a difference to both me, my colleagues and the company.

Adam Stones

Senior consultant at Forster Communications

Levels of cycling in Britain are amongst the lowest across Europe - only 2% of us use a bike as our main method of getting around. In the Netherlands, 20 times more journeys are made by bike by people under 17 than in the UK. And the main reason for this is the perceived lack of safety.

Dr Onkar Sahota

Practicing GP and London Assembly member for Ealing and Hillingdon

Whilst the Mayor may not be in the business of running healthcare services, he does have a responsibility to combat health inequalities. There couldn't be a bigger health inequality than some communities having access to great quality services, whilst others are forced to suffer the burden of travelling tens of miles to access services that they should be able to get locally.

Dr Prateek Buch

Director, Social Liberal Forum

Coming days after RBS announced a £607m bonus pool to "reward" staff for losses of £5bn, Boris' defence of the banking industry is in itself deluded - and as far as the UK economy is concerned, self-defeating.

Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage MEP - Leader of UKIP

The media has become obsessed that Ukip is taking votes from the Tories. But it's simply not that simple. Look at all the recent by-election results and I think it's clear to see we are having an impact across the board.

Russ Shaw

Non-Executive Director and Investor; board member, Tech City Advisory Group

As the Mayor emphasised, emerging businesses need to be financially supported and nurtured. London is already home to the greatest concentration of tech firms in Europe and to enable this to continue, high growth small businesses need investment.

John Wight

Writer

We are living in the midst of an economic meltdown, which as the latest economic figures reveal is being made worse not better by a Chancellor whose incompetence and mendacity is now beyond doubt.

Richard Blakeway

Deputy Mayor for Housing, Land and Property in London

It is clear that top-down regulation will only serve to deter investors at a time when more, not less, investment is needed. Instead, the mayor's proposals aim to work towards an improved private rented offer by putting Londoners and landlords in the driving seat.

Etan Smallman

Freelance journalist for national British newspapers

Firstly, to the well-dressed people of Great Britain, I would like to repent. My confession: I was one of the first journalists in the country to spring the 21st Century's greatest crime against fashion on to an unsuspecting public.

Ben Falk

Entertainment journalist and author

American-born writer CJ Daugherty is the author of the successful Night School series, the first of which was the #5 bestselling YA debut of 2012. I got a chance to chat with CJ about the new book.

James Peckham

Journalist, freelance writer and student

Sport will inevitably be the true home of the Olympic stadium. But while contracts are negotiated and decisions made, live music needs a change in London from the unsatisfactory venue of Hyde Park.

Dave Clements

Reflections on a big society that keeps getting smaller

Instead of focusing its efforts on the 'vulnerable' margins none too effectively, the mayor and the government need to build - or else create the conditions whereby others build - more houses to meet the historically massive shortfall.

Eddie Izzard

Comedian

Londoners need a Mayor who will be there when things are tough and when they get even tougher, speaking up for Londoners, putting them first. Ken is in this for Londoners. London needs him.

Matthew Phillips

Frontman of London based 'electro fop-pop pioneers' Kites

The Chinese zodiac tells us that 2012 was the year of the dragon. It wasn't; 2012 was the year of the Boris. While George Osborne looked vampiric beside an increasingly choleric Cameron, Mayor Johnson marched through the capital with the air of an all-conquering war hero.

Joel Faulkner Rogers

Academic Director, YouGov

David Cameron got an apparent boost for the 'cake and eat it' approach to Europe last week, when finance ministers of the European Union (EU) agreed on the terms of an embryonic Eurozone Banking Union.