Lucy Powell
Today the demands are for even higher standards in the quality of care, for greater flexibility and convenience in treatment times, and for more prevention through screening and health checks.Collection: Health
It's not a matter of if economies around the world becoming low-carbon, but when and how: through struggle and strife or through advancement and progressive leadership. Larry Elliot described it today as the 'Green New Deal.' It's a leadership we in Britain can provide, and from which our economy can benefit.Collection: Leadership
In the industrial revolution Britain led the world in advances that enabled mass production: trade exchanges, transportation, factory technology and new skills needed for the new industrialised world.Collection: Technology
I have run a general election campaign pregnant and ran Ed Miliband's leadership campaign commuting to London with a new baby so I already have my system set up.Collection: Leadership
Funding for sports (and the arts) are often the first things facing the chop in difficult times.
I'm honoured to have been selected to be the Labour candidate for Manchester Central.
Events are moving so fast and what in one moment seems impossible, the next is happening. I'm sure historians will, in time, provide theories and analysis, but for now I think most of us simply want the tide stemmed.
Over the last 10 years a huge amount has been achieved in getting people into work. Measures such as the New Deal, tax credits, the minimum wage and improved childcare have brought about record numbers of people in work, a number that is still rising despite the global economic slowdown.
The cost of motoring is a massive issue at the moment, there's no question. The price of petrol goes up every time you go to the petrol station.
Doing nothing and shrinking spending may save us public money in the short term but could cost us a great deal more over time as the recession takes hold for much longer.
I will take a short time out from being in Parliament when the baby is born but I'll still be doing my constituency work - just with another baby in tow.
These are tough times and under this Tory-led government many people in Manchester are suffering and getting left behind. If elected I will use all my energy, skills, experience and knowledge to stand up for our communities and get things done for the better.
In these difficult times, when tough decisions are required, the differences between Labour and the Tories are becoming much clearer. One party believes in intervention to reduce social and economic costs and the other believes in market forces and letting things take their course.
Surely, the best and most effective measure is to get the economy moving and shorten the period of recession or slowdown. That's the rationale for Gordon Brown's 'fiscal stimulus' and it sounds like a good one to me.
The Tories seem unable to make any impact north of the border.
As the prospect of a Tory government gets nearer, many traditional Labour voters - some who switched away in recent times and many who stayed at home - seem more determined to prevent that happening.
The choice between a Labour government and a Tory one is sharpening minds.
In Scotland, the indication is that for the Westminster elections at least, Labour voters are satisfied with their government.
As the economy faces such difficulties, more tough questions need to be asked about what the Tories would do if elected. Their ideology of free markets and small government needs challenging. That has to be part of our job.
Some argue that now isn't the time to push the green agenda - that all efforts should be on preventing a serious recession. That is a false choice. It fails to recognise that climate change and our carbon reliance is part of problem - high fuel prices and food shortages due to poor crop yields compound today's financial difficulties.
A global deal will only be possible if Britain plays its part, leading the way with other developed countries.
The impact of the downturn is starting to feel very real. House prices and the housing market have been taking the knock for some time and that's affecting people.
The lack of available credit and loans is having a severe impact on small businesses in particular, but also their suppliers and the bigger companies too.
There's a loss of faith in the banking system that for so long has been the backbone of prosperity and growth.
People rightly want our political leaders - on all sides - to concentrate on minimising the damage to jobs, living standards and our savings from the banking crisis.
It's estimated that by 2030 there will be virtually no unskilled jobs in the British economy.
The era of industrial Britain, where a large section of our workforce provided cheap labour in factories and processing goods, is over.
Globalisation means that for a high-wage, developed economy like Britain's to compete we need to focus our efforts on the highly skilled, added-value sectors such as advanced manufacturing, creative industries, engineering and even financial services.
The Tories and the Lib Dems talk about social mobility, but, short of winning the lottery, the only way to guarantee young people from all backgrounds the opportunity to do better and to raise aspirations is through education.
In politics, the number of women in the cabinet has fallen and, if current poll trends continue and Labour loses a number of marginal seats, the number of female MPs is likely to drop significantly.
The Labour party has done more than any other to address gender inequalities, through legislation and other means, and to increase women's representation in politics, which has led to recent increases in the number of female politicians.
As a relatively young woman - I'm 33 - I hope to one day have a family and already have commitments. If and when I'm elected as an MP, I would face a choice: take my family with me to London each week or be apart for four, maybe five, nights a week.
Team GB's success at the Beijing Olympics can, in part, be said to have been made in Manchester. For example, all the cycling medal winners trained at Manchester's velodrome, the National Cycling Centre.
Even though I support the blue side of Manchester's football heritage, I don't really mind that wherever I go in the world it's not Manchester City that starts the conversation. 'Ah, yes, Manchester United,' is the response when I say where I come from. It's commonplace everywhere - in Europe, Africa, Asia and even the U.S.
Both the velodrome and the Commonwealth swimming pool are open to the public and are frequently used by local schools and the local community. Over the last six years young people have been inspired to take up swimming and cycling more seriously; some of them are now coming through as Olympic champions or hopefuls.
You're wrong if you think young people don't deserve the vote.
At its most basic the democratic contract is a simple one: the right to vote comes with a responsibility to society, through tax payments and citizenship.
Sixteen- and 17-year-olds pay taxes and can join the army, so surely they should in turn be given their right to vote.
For sure, the 'Obamania' that's fast taking hold reflects an incredible thirst for change in global politics and, dare I say, a wave of optimism that things can be different.
Like many of my friends and colleagues, I can't get enough of Obama news; latest polling, speeches, visits, reaction of world leaders.
We in the Labour party owe it to the people we represent to make sure that we offer a choice at the next election between our Labour values and those of the Conservatives.
We need to dig deep and give people a reason to be optimistic just as Obama is doing in America. Because in the same way that outcome of the U.S. elections will change the course of events there and around the world, so too do politics here in Britain.
In the current climate motorists have a long list of issues from which to choose to raise on the doorstep. Policies aimed at reducing emissions - like the changes to Vehicle Excise Duty or here in Manchester the proposals for congestion charges - are not without controversy.
Being out and about talking to residents and representing their views is, in my view, as important to politics as the grandstanding that takes place in Westminster.
It's become unfashionable to celebrate political achievement, and Labour achievement even less so. And it's positively uncouth to be proud of something that this Labour government is doing. So, slam me for saying so, but I'm really proud of the NHS.
Connecting people to jobs and to each other is absolutely vital to a city's economy (and to the wider economy).
Fossil fuels, including oil, are running out and supplies are getting harder to find. If we do nothing, prices will continue to rise and our reliance on oil will come to an abrupt and tumultuous end, causing global economic and social turmoil.
At times unpopular measures are needed in order to change behaviour.
For us political activists and candidates, the morning after any election is a mix of emotions - the personal and the immediate, the culmination of your own recent campaigning efforts; and the fortunes of your party and the success or otherwise of what you stand for and believe in.
The economic and social decline of Zimbabwe is shocking and appalling. Life there is unrecognisable from that of the recent past. Each day is a struggle for basic survival.