Some people welcome the flexibility of a zero-hours contract. But their growth is symptomatic of a wider issue - increasing job insecurity and falling living standards in David Cameron's Britain.

It was a Labour prime minister who appointed the first black male and female cabinet ministers.

My father was a rags-to-riches businessman who came over in the Sixties with no money. On my mother's side, I am the grandson of a High Court judge and celebrated intelligence officer, so it's quite an unusual combination.

With Tory privatisations in the past we've seen how service users can end up losing out and getting a raw deal.