Esther McVey

What does a teacher do in a school? A teacher would tell you off or give you lines or whatever it is, detentions, but at the same times, they are wanting your best interests at heart. They are teaching you, they are educating you, but at the same time, they will also have the ability to sanction you.

I come from a background where people have had their own business, where it has been incredibly tough for a long period of time, and you are only as good as the last contract you have got, as the last job you have done, where the notion of a precarious existence does exist, as it does for a lot of people.

Most people fall upon tough times at some point.

When we cannot find enough extra money for policing, yet we are having huge sums to other countries in aid, it is time to start a serious conversation.

If feminism was a dress, it would be that essential little black number, reached for in times of need; different for everyone but a steady constant in a woman's life. Outspoken or understated, demure or provocative, worn to reflect the mood, the personality, the time.

Labour's disastrous legacy and the Conservative success did not happen by accident: it was about the choices each party made, choices that impact on everyone.

What you've seen from the 1980s, particularly in this country, is far fewer people doing Saturday jobs and doing jobs after school.

First and foremost, we have to ensure that we have to get our own kids ready for work so that employers want to take them on.

Work experience for many is their first taste of work and an essential first step into the jobs market.

Not only does work experience provide the opportunity to sample a potential career, but it also builds the essential skills often regarded as 'soft skills' that are needed to thrive in work.

When I speak to young people around the country, I'm impressed with the confidence and self-assuredness with which they look to the future and the range of options they consider beyond traditional routes.

Our young people are some of the best and most talented in the world - they are driven, entrepreneurial, and innovative - and with the help of people who have already made it in the world of work, they can go on to be the bosses and employers of the future.