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I've been in Parliament since 1983, and I've been involved in many issues over the time.

One consistent thing in an otherwise inconsistent career is that I've always been passionate about parliament.

I come from a political family. My father was a freedom fighter. He was a prominent leader of the locality and member of the Congress party. He spent 10 years in British prisons. In the evening, in our living room, the only subject we used to discuss was politics. So politics was not unfamiliar to me.

I never really grew up being political or Labour. It was just a realisation that where you were born mattered. That how you spoke mattered... who you knew mattered.

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.

When you first come into Parliament, it's a daunting place because you feel you've so much to learn. Once you've been re-elected, you feel much more confident. It just gives you a bit of a boost.

I still cherish the memory of walking into the Parliament for the first time.

I definitely learned about the inner workings of campaigns enough to know that I'm glad that I'm not in politics.

I don't know a lot about politics.

I came into politics because of my opposition to what a Tory Government was doing to the community I grew up in.