Further Education should be about the ability to learn, not the ability to pay - everyone who is able should have the opportunity, regardless of their family background. I don't want to see students struggling with huge debts or frightened off even going to university in the first place.
Professionally I would say taking up my constituents' problems is something I continue to enjoy after 22 years as an MP.
I have always considered myself of the reforming centre-left.
Three simple words - freedom, justice and honesty. These sum up what the Liberal Democrats stand for.
I believe that our country is a richer, more vibrant society precisely because it is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic society.
Decentralisation is controversial - but that's fine. We should be fearless about having a debate.
I think you've got to like people. There are MPs who are either painfully shy or who don't like public speaking or don't socialise very well, and you just think this must be the worst job in the world for them.
People are not stupid.
Tony Blair took us to war in Iraq on the basis of the supposed threat of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction.
It has been the greatest privilege of my adult and public life to have served, for 32 years, as the Member of Parliament for our local Highlands and Islands communities.
We should have high expectations of our children, but politicians should not tell teachers how to meet them.
We actually believe in hope. But hope requires purpose. And purpose requires direction.
Yes, you need substance in politics - but I think your style also says something about how you arrive at some of your conclusions.
It's our job as Liberal Democrats to be an effective opposition - and an increasingly tough one as well.
It is the government's fundamental duty to ensure the security of every individual citizen.
I couldn't imagine a day without music. It relaxes and stimulates me in equal measure and I hate the sound of silence - the concept, I mean, not the track by Simon and Garfunkel.
With 24-hour news... the story moves on with the media.
That 1983 general election contained the telltale seeds of eventual Scottish Tory self-destruction.
I'm not someone who dwells upon past events, taking the view that life is too short.
Of all the principles which constitute Liberal Democracy, internationalism is the clearest, the most distinctive, and the one with the longest history.
I don't actually subscribe to the view that all power corrupts. But absolute power - when secured on the back of massive parliamentary majorities, which don't reflect the balance of political opinion in the country - can corrupt absolutely.
Democracy demands trust. It demands that sense of mutual understanding. And - it's a two way street. You've got to give - as much as you take.
Good political leadership for me involves getting the big decisions right - however difficult, however controversial, however potentially divisive - and then being able to take people with you.
Useful lessons can be learned from our more successful local authorities - as you move into government, it is even more imperative to communicate speedily and persuasively with your members and your voters.
We Liberal Democrats don't believe we should use the tax structure to champion just one type of family.
As someone who has led his party through two general elections, I have not always been immune from feeling the pressure of electioneering tactics.
The most special relationships, in my experience, are based on a combination of trust and mutual respect.
To be seen to be human, provided you're doing your job at the same time, is definitely not a negative, not at all.
I did not dwell on the issue of Europe during either the 2001 or the 2005 campaigns - despite it being a pivotal personal concern and despite seeing it as something of a litmus test for liberal democracy.
My health is good and it's up to me to keep it that way.
I can hardly think of an occasion when I've got into a stand-up fight with any political opponent. I've got my views, people know what they are, they can agree or they can choose to disagree. I'm not going to waste time just rubbishing everybody else.
A perennial problem that has faced the Scottish Highlands is that, time and again, too many of the more talented young people have had to move elsewhere - even abroad - through a lack of opportunities that should have been available.
I find no contradiction between being a Highlander, a Scot, a citizen of the U.K. and a citizen of the European Union at one and the same time.
Just as we Liberal Democrats opposed the flawed logic of that war in Iraq - we will oppose the flawed government claim that we have to surrender our fundamental rights in order to improve our security.
I want our party to step up its efforts to reflect and champion the concerns of everybody who has reached the second half of their lives.
Politics means facing up to hard choices and facing down prejudice, short-termism, the easy, tempting court of knee-jerk public reaction.
The quicker we get rid of the lobby system the better for all of us. I don't think in this day and age it is tenable to have these nods and winks, and on-the-record and off-the-record briefings.
Only the Liberal Democrats have probed the government's failings consistently, thoroughly and effectively.
We believe that government in Britain should improve the quality of people's lives and improve the quality of our public services in every local community.
I don't want a headline saying 'Kennedy suggests this or implies that.'
The point never to lose sight of is to be guided by the correct thing, as you see it. It's the only way to approach such profound matters and retain your integrity.
We want a strong, vibrant economy for Britain so that we can set out a clear and affordable alternative programme for government.
Many people want to scale back their working hours as they near the end of their careers, but not necessarily to give up work altogether.
Speaking to numerous teachers and nurses, I am consistently struck by the sense of mission they have about their work.
This country has a proud history of opening its doors to generations of people fleeing personal persecution, civil unrest and war.
Ours is a stable country. Ours is a sensible country. And ours is a fundamentally decent country.
The House of Lords has many fine aspects, but at its heart, it is a betrayal of the core democratic principle that those in the enlightened world hold so dear - that those who make the laws of the land should be elected by those who must obey those laws.
In my view, as a country we need to rediscover some of that skepticism about government and revisit that libertarian agenda.
The late Roy Jenkins was both a mentor and a personal friend. He was a man of both phenomenal intellect and political achievement in equal measure.
