“I was stuck with looking like a girl. As soon as I got out of music it was straight off to the hairdressers.”

The duty of responsibility placed on any MP is one of the greatest honours that can be bestowed

I think church and state should remain entirely separate at all costs, and that the decision of religious marriage should be of each faith to debate and decide free of political influence.

Be nice to everyone and all that.

Drugs ruin peoples lives, break up families and have disastrous effects on our communities.

I feel I can serve to the best of my abilities, and where I feel I can make a real difference, and further their cause.

People have become increasingly disenchanted with the process assuming that all politicians will say anything to gain power, and then never follow through.

I am lucky enough to be selected for. Looks play no part in the equation, what matters is your ideas and connecting them to the electorate.

There is a real diversity of talent and background on the A list so as to better reflect our society in all walks.

There are people who have been candidates before, Councillors, Doctors, business leaders, charity campaigners.

For me it’s more important to look at each constituency individually and find a community

After believing in promises made and never fulfilled by Labour

The evidence that things are changing fast can be seen in the dramatic increase in the influence of blogging.

But also utilise the youth media they relate to to better connect them to our message.

I’m the first to admit I’ve had a sheltered life.

We should be collecting emails as we used to collect telephone numbers and using them to better communicate our message to key voters.

I grew up in the country and went to a boarding school. It was all just part of the business

It’s no use filling your pocket with money if you have got a hole in the corner.

You can’t change a regime on the basis of compassion. There’s got to be something harder.

I found out I got ‘The Little Drummer Girl’ and my BAFTA nomination in quick succession, and I just didn’t expect it to be like that. I thought there would be a lot more time in between. It’s been an overwhelming experience.

One always tends to overpraise a long book, because one has got through it.

I wanted to go to drama school, but when I got the part in ‘Falling,’ I got an agent, so it seemed a good idea to work.

I didn’t know much about my Native American ancestry, but as I got older I became more interested in it.

Players will see right through a phony. And they can tell when you’re not giving it all you’ve got.

I couldn’t get a job to save my life. That’s why I wrote ‘Road to Paloma.’ That got into Sundance and got into that scene, and that’s how I got the role in ‘The Red Road.’