Sure Start transformed my life as a mum and allowed me to get back to work.
My brother and sister are smarter than me. But I'm the most successful because I've been given opportunities that they never had.
If the Tories are serious about ensuring everyone has the opportunity to learn, regardless of their background, then the only thing they need to review is Labour's manifesto.
Any success I have had is thanks to Labour governments that provided the council house, minimum wage, tax credits and Sure Start children's centre that enabled me to achieve it.
I don't want to stick a sticking plaster on it, I don't want to fix children once the system's broken them, I want to give every child the opportunity before that - because the system should protect and nurture, and not damage our children.
Supporting any team has its ups and downs. But being part of a united team on the brink of victory, is the only way we're going to change the country for the better.
I've seen at first-hand what Labour Governments can achieve in power.
I wanted to prove I wasn't that person everyone wanted to stereotype me. You can slag me off, I talk about my upbringing now and try and do it in a way that inspires others, but I never felt good about it.
My mum didn't understand that education was an important thing. She couldn't do my homework with me. I was helping her read stuff. She once brought shaving soap thinking it was whipped cream.
Underestimating grades has serious consequences for a student's choice of university, and their future.
Politics is a lot like football. Both involve people working in a team. One week you can be top of the league, the next week, you might slip a place. But I've never for one minute wanted to give up my devotion for my team.
I was born on a council estate with a mum who, despite doing everything she could for me, couldn't help me learn to read and write because she had never been taught herself. As the jargon would have it now, I was not 'school ready.'
Building a country that worked for everyone was supposed to be about supporting ordinary working class families, which is exactly what Labour's plan to bring back the maintenance grant would do.
I think technical education and vocational skills and having a trade mean something.