Labour politicians for generations have fought to bring democracy to the House of Lords.

I happen to consider myself a Highlander even before a Scot; I am proud to be British yet feel comfortable as a European citizen.

Tony Blair took us to war in Iraq on the basis of the supposed threat of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction.

Politicians are good at saying how Government must do more, but we must also think carefully about where Government should do less.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 believe that our country is a richer, more vibrant society precisely because it is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic society.

For any new leader of any party at any given time it takes time if you are not in government to establish yourself.

There are hard choices to be made in balancing the country's security and an individual's liberties. But it is a choice that has to be faced.

I don't want a headline saying 'Kennedy suggests this or implies that.'

With 24-hour news... the story moves on with the media.

We should have high expectations of our children, but politicians should not tell teachers how to meet them.

I believe that access to a university education should be based on the ability to learn, not what people can afford. I think there is no more nauseating a sight than politicians pulling up the ladder of opportunity behind them.

I'm a lifelong believer in trade unionism.

We Liberal Democrats believe in dialogue. We believe in cooperation with both sides of industry and between both sides of industry. And we believe in the language of cooperation. We reject the language of confrontation.

You won't catch Liberal Democrats describing trade unionists as wreckers.

I want to see far more decisions taken far closer to the patients, the passengers and the pupils. Far more power for locally and regionally elected politicians who understand best the needs of their areas. And far more say too for the dedicated staff at all levels in health and education.

I am genuinely not an over-the-top kind of person about politics or anything else.

To run an effective political party you need a degree of tribalism, it's the glue that holds everyone together.

I should do something about the cigarettes; I quite accept that it's bad for your health, but you know a moderate tipple is positively beneficial and, at certain times, absolutely essential.

If you were to describe me as teetotal, on behalf of my constituency I'd have to sue; that would lose me every vote in the Highlands.

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 will go out of this world feet first with my Lib Dem membership card in my pocket.

I'm a fully paid-up member of the human race.

Actually, I think it's quite sensible not to take yourself too seriously.

Yes, you need substance in politics - but I think your style also says something about how you arrive at some of your conclusions.

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.

People are not stupid.

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.

My approach is always to try to be straight with people, especially about what my party can achieve.

It is true that I entered parliament at the age of 23, and have now been representing the people of my constituency for over twenty years.

I'm not someone who dwells upon past events, taking the view that life is too short.

I think that former leaders are best seen occasionally and not too often heard - particularly on the subject of their successors!

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.

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.

There is no satisfaction to be derived from having had many of our arguments borne out by events.

We would all rather see Iraq resolved successfully.

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.

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.

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.

Some ministers are fond of talking about a return to Victorian values. We must realise that those Victorian values are being expressed by some of the younger people in this society in shameful and disturbing disregard for other members of their generation who are not as fortunate as they are in having a job.

During my campaign, people of my age and younger said consistently that they would not vote because their votes simply no longer matter and because no government or member of Parliament cared a whit about their problems and their striving for employment.

To involve young people and make sure that the system is more relevant to them in Scotland, we have a clear obligation to implement a policy of home rule.

Taking a principled and consistent stance over Iraq has attracted much criticism from our detractors and opponents.

Whatever the eventual judgment, the political implications of Hutton are already clear. A devastating indictment of Labour in power - and of our political system itself.

We need less theoretical debate and more practical application and acknowledgment of what Europe can and does do so that it is brought home to people in a relevant way.

As Liberal Democrats and proponents of federalism, we must put our heads above the parapet and recapture and disseminate the true meaning of federalism. We have to win the vocabulary before we succeed in the vision.