I suspect there are people in all walks of life who need to be dragged into the 21st century in terms of attitudes towards women.

We too often hear about red tape but what they mean is the vital rights of workers.

I think being a mother helps keep your feet on the ground. There's very little dignity in parenthood. It's a great leveller.

The TUC's new slogan 'a future that works' sets a profound challenge. Austerity and rapid deficit reduction is failing in its own terms, but even at its best it is short-sighted, muddle-through politics with no vision of a new economic model.

I do know what it's like to worry about bills, I do know what it's like to worry about even finding a child-minder, never mind paying them.

Britain is a textbook case of how growing inequality leads to economic crisis. The years before the crash were marked by a sharp rise in remortgaging and the growth of 0% balance transfer credit cards. By 2008 the UK had the highest ratio of household debt to GDP of any major economy.

A vision of Europe fit for the 21st century and a practical plan to deliver strong rights, decent jobs and livelihoods, with strong unions at its heart, is one worth fighting for.