Finding your feet in a new country provides an enormous boost to your confidence and independence.

At school I hated swimming and felt bigger and more self-conscious than all the other girls - and I would go to summer sports camps to desperately try to change my shape so that it couldn't be one of the taunts aimed at me by bullies.

The actual teaching itself becomes lost in a sea of paperwork and teachers soon realise that the very reason they entered this profession constitutes only a fraction of their working day.

Protesting is a fundamental aspect of our democracy, and I will always encourage this course of action, but it can be intimidating.

Lib Dems are really good at making very detailed policies but very bad are communicating the core values that drive those policies. I'd like us to say less but more often. We need to focus on a few themes and go hard on them.

The electorate is bored of talking about the past. They are much more interested in the future.

My mum is Palestinian and my dad is British but worked all his life from the European Union for their Foreign Action Service. So I was born in Hammersmith but moved away when I was one. That's when dad joined the European Commission.

I was really super into science an not at all in to politics. I think it was a reaction against the fact my dad was a diplomat. I wanted to do something that was totally different. I fell in love with science.

I have been inspired by the way that Ken Clarke has navigated parliament. I am actively looking across the House for people I really respect and warm to and can learn things from.

When I finished my degree I became a physics and maths teacher. And worked in the international school in Brussels, because like many kids, after University I went home going 'ahhh I don't know what to do'. I happened to fall upon a job there because they were desperate for a physics teacher which is a common theme among many schools.

In my head, I'm still a teacher. I miss the kids.

There are lots of great educationalists out there who really care about social mobility.

I am naturally centre-left so the areas of education there are things on which I could work quite closely with Labour on... For example, on trying in Parliament to abolish SATs, I would be the first one through the gates.

I joined a gym when I was 11, agreed to seeing a dietitian aged 15, and I remember being a teenager and going to shops, only to find that as a size 16, the clothes were hidden at the back or on different floors well away from the shop windows.

Losing weight, even with the help of the operation I had, remains the hardest thing I have ever done - and the thing I am most proud of.

MPs put ourselves at the behest of the British people, certainly, but we are not infallible or devoid of sensitivity.

What provides me with the strength and conviction to walk proudly among protesters so angry about the policies I endorse is the support I absorb when I am in my own constituency. Whenever I am at home, I am met with smiling faces, and words of thanks, even hugs.

I will always believe that my vote, and the votes of my Lib Dem colleagues, are the best thing I can do to save this country from a no-deal Brexit and save it from Boris Johnson.

The word 'Zionist' has become toxic. To some it means believing in Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. To others it represents a movement that led to the expulsion and marginalisation of the Palestinian people in their own land.

I am a British-Palestinian who believes in Israel's right to exist.

Genuine supporters of Palestinians' rights are fighting for equality, justice and freedom, aims that are in diametric opposition to any form of antisemitism.

Palestinians also have a right not to have their homes demolished because an occupying power refuses to grant them a permit. Palestinian children should not be shot at or arrested in the middle of the night and interrogated by the Israeli military while terrified and isolated.

For far too many, the housing crisis has become a human crisis, with people being criminalised who should instead be protected as our most vulnerable citizens.

The Conservative government's neglect of social housing is all too apparent and should be a source of national shame.

Any one of us could fall on hard times. Work and housing have the potential to be unstable, especially for those earning low wages or relying on family and friends. It should not be a criminal offence to sleep on the street.

More and more people - Leavers and Remainers - from every region, every political party and every walk of life, are demanding a vote on the final Brexit deal before we leave the EU.

I believe that Theresa May is going to end up with a botched Brexit that will satisfy no one and make sure that calls for a people's vote on the final Brexit deal will only get louder.

Politicians need to realise that words have consequences.

We need a government that takes climate change seriously, one that doesn't shunt it to the side-lines.

As a former teacher, I know how frustrating it must be to watch students walk out of class, particularly if they have important exams on the horizon.

It is vital that MPs take the issue of climate change seriously and support the students in their activism. They can rest assured that I certainly do.

Food banks have told us of the increasing donations of, and demand for, tampons and pads which are gratefully received by women struggling to afford them.

For all the farcical invoking of Blitz spirit, Brexit isn't merely an absurdist experiment in English nationalist nostalgia - it is the most audacious example yet of a futuristic Russian nationalism that seeks to divide and rule Europe.

As a former teacher, it pains me to watch such an essential and rewarding profession suffer due to government neglect.

I miss the classroom and the bit I miss the most is the one-on-one personal interactions with the students, those moments when they surprise you with their insightfulness, or their cheekiness.

My subjects were maths and physics. I truly appreciate the value in sciences, but understand the difficulty finding and retaining teachers for these subjects, especially when most of my Imperial cohort ended up as management consultants or in finance.

The important point is Brexiteers said that this would be easy, that we could leave and enter a post-Brexit nirvana, a land of milk and honey that will satisfy their ideological dogma and make the people happy. Sadly, this deluded dream has run out of steam.

A no deal Brexit could bring Britain to a grinding halt and threaten the wellbeing of our country.

I've been a fan of Eddie Izzard since school.

The more I hear about Eddie Izzard's political agenda, the more sympathetic I feel. I cheer him on in his cause, but I fear he faces an uphill battle.

A united, functional opposition really could stop Brexit.

We boast of being one of the oldest democracies in existence and it is a point of pride for many of us that British society represents a beacon of hope for repressed peoples living in authoritarian states around the world.

Brexit is the most complex and difficult political decision our country has had to take in mine and many other lifetimes.

Luckily for me, my views align with those of my constituents and party; the Liberal Democrats are unabashedly pro-European and are unapologetically up-front about our pursuit of a democratic way to stay in the EU.

Liberal Democrats have been leading the fight for a People's Vote and we're getting closer to that with each day.

The future of British politics is not the pale, male and stale stereotype of tradition. Things are changing for the better.

The benefits of studying abroad are huge. You can pick up a new language, develop a love for another culture, and pick up new skills, hobbies and work experience to boost your CV.

Studying abroad should not be something that only the wealthy can afford. Every student deserves the opportunity to experience other cultures, make new friendships, share ideas and widen their horizons.

Our tired, old politics is tearing at the seams. The Lib Dems have returned to their local roots, just as a more pluralist politics is desperately needed.

Apprenticeships, when they are delivered well, have the potential to offer massive benefits to our employers and our economy as a whole by upskilling our workforce, and offer a vital alternative to those who feel that a more academic route is not the right one for them.