Liz Kendall

“When people say, 'You don't have a family' it makes my blood boil. I thought, 'Yes I do, I have my dad, my mum, my brothers and nieces.'”

“Can you imagine if it was like that: everything you're doing as you grow up you're wondering, 'What is that going to mean if I ever end up being a politician?' You wouldn't have anybody except ruthlessly ambitious automatons going into politics.”

“The Labour party is the greatest champion of equality and opportunity this country has even known.”

“My parents are like many across Britain. Neither on the breadline, nor loaded, they were determined to give their daughter all that any of us can ask from our parents: love, security, ambition and hope.”

“Being leader is a tough gig.”

“I have got a vintage Omega 1949 watch I love... It was a present that I got for my birthday.”

“In Finland they are brilliant at ensuring no young person falls behind. From the day a child is born they are visited by health workers who assess their well-being and developmental. The health workers work with psychologists and speech therapists and aim to identify any problems at a very early stage.”

“I love an Omega. I think they're great watches.”

“I would radically redesign early years education to learn from the best bits of the Finnish system.”

“You can't sort out crime unless locals have a good relationship with the police. You can't tackle health challenges unless people have an active role in their own health.”

“Life doesn't have to be the way it is. We can change it. That's why I'm in politics.”

“As you get older, of course you want to be settled, but life changes and it doesn't work out. Who knows what will happen?”

“For too long, politics has been about politicians winning power to take decisions about everyone else.”

“I will be fighting for what I believe in till the very end.”

“The hospital of the future will start in people's homes.”

“My goal is to get power out of Westminster and into the hands of the people it affects. That means sharing power with those who have none and using national and local government to help people to help themselves and one another.”

“I hated what Margaret Thatcher had done. How she'd taken jobs. I hated her divide and rule politics.”

“Doing stand-up in front of arenas or clubs is something else; it's not a talent I have.”

“I don't want anyone to be put off going into politics - particularly women - if they feel that they're going to get personal questions.”

“David Cameron should be focusing on what is in Britain's national interest and our place in the world, not on internal party politics.”