If you look at the footballers, you look at our celebrity culture, we seem to be saying, 'This is the way you want to be'. We seem to be a society that celebrates all the wrong people.

For families across the UK who are income-poor, but more than that, whose lives are blighted by worklessness, educational failure, family breakdown, problem debt and poor health, as well as other problems, giving them an extra pound - say through increased benefits - will not address the reason they find themselves in difficulty in the first place.

I went up to the top of the career ladder and I came down again, I am past all that.

That thing, 'You must stay together for the kids,' is out of fashion but is right. It's not arguing parents that children don't like, it is having one parent.

With the right support, a child growing up in a dysfunctional household, who was destined for a lifetime on benefits could be put on an entirely different track - one which sees them move into fulfilling and sustainable work. In doing so, they will pull themselves out of poverty.

Over the years the political establishment has frowned if a mainstream politician mentions marriage.

Every parent wants to know that their children are protected against those who have a particular agenda until they get old enough to make decisions for themselves.