Darrell Goodliffe

Freelance writer, political commentator

Although it has been gaining in terms of publicity and exposure, that means scrutiny will increase of Ukip's actual policies. On some issues it no doubt is able to chime with popular sentiment, on Europe and on immigration, for example. However, on social issues like gay marriage all the indications are that it is out-of-step with mainstream opinion.

Jo Swinson

Minister for Women and Equalities, MP for East Dunbartonshire

We need to open the debate up further and to talk more openly. We already understand how low body confidence can affect 15 year old girls. But what happens when those 15 year old girls reach 25, 35, and 45? How does their low body confidence translate into social confidence? How does it affect their performance in the workplace? How does it affect their families? The government is already doing a lot to support women, but we also need to ensure that we can nurture and support the aspirations of women and girls.

Naomi T. Smith

Co-Chair of the Social Liberal Forum

Nick Clegg's speech yesterday at the Royal Commonwealth Society has left me baffled. He claims to position the Liberal Democrats as "governing from the centre ground". If only. Instead, the area he has chosen to occupy, is a bizarre electoral wasteland where few voters exist.

Mandy Saligari

Executive Director, Founder and Clinical Director, Charter Day Care, Charter Residential and Charter Adolescents

Please do not be so naive as to believe that in decriminalising certain drugs you will be able to regulate them. All it will do is endorse the market place and generate growth in the drug industry, creating opportunity for low cost and black market goods, synthetic evolutions and copies.

Gareth Edmundson

Political writer and columnist

Did you know that the gap between the tax that the UK government is meant to collect compared to the tax that it actually collects is £32 billion.

Richard Burden

Labour MP for Birmingham Northfield and Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group

Proper recognition of Palestine by the UN General Assembly is not the same as peace in the Middle East, but it is a step on the road. Peace can only come from negotiations between the parties and international agreements.

Daniel Wood

Blogger

It is only recently that I have begun to fully appreciate just how deep people's cynicism in politics actually goes. The vast majority of my friends a...

Peter Kellner

President of YouGov, political commentator and journalist

Conservative eurosceptics and Labour tacticians should beware. British hostility to the European Union is not as simple or complete as some of them think.

Cameron Penny

Financial services lobbyist with an interest in tech

Is the EU perfect? No. There are no systems of government that are. Problems are only emphasised when trying to reconcile 27 different cultural, legal and political systems. There have been, and there will be, things given up in the task of creating a 'more perfect union'. The prize is immense.

Peter Ingram

Cultural Historian and Economist

We are now mid-way through this parliament and it seems that all is to play for at the next election.

Natalie Bennett

Green Party leader

Our most recent occupation of Afghanistan has been marked, much like the others, by a directionless war that turns Afghans into enemies while getting bogged down in mud and blood. The growing occurrence of so called 'green on blue' attacks on allied forces are not simply a failure of security checks but a deeper sign that more Afghan's than ever are unconvinced that the 11 year occupation has been for their benefit. We should bring home the 9,000 British service men and women still stationed in Afghanistan, taking them out of harm's way.

Sir Gerald Kaufman

Member of Parliament for Manchester Gorton

In my opinion, Israel is a rogue state which commits war crimes. It is an aggressor state that has invaded Lebanon several times and holds a chunk of Syria illegally, but despite being the fourth most-heavily-armed country in the world has not won a war outright for 45 years, since 1967.

Antony Timlin

Political Blogger & Researcher

Young people have a huge amount at stake when it comes to policing and criminal justice issues and until we effectively bring them into the debate many of the issues we currently see will remain.

Peter Kellner

President of YouGov, political commentator and journalist

Beware analyses of mid-term by-elections (including this one, if you like). They are prone either to exaggerate or understate their meaning.

Scott Dodds

General Manager of Marketing and Operations, Microsoft UK

Nick Clegg's support for flexible working for parents is welcome and overdue but, arguably, his plans don't go far enough.

Jonathan Portes

Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research

Faith-based economics (over the last 10 years, not just the last two) got us into this economic mess; it won't get us out of it.