Justin Tomlinson sounds as though he is not totally up to speed with current law in this area. There is already a legal obligation under the Consumer Credit Act for lenders to check a borrower's creditworthiness. In my view , 90 % of the answer lies in introducing mandatory personal finance education in schools - NOT more regulation (the volume and complexity of existing regulation is spectacular) or incentivising credit unions. Iola, the credit card business is actually very competitive - bear in mind that as well as the retail banks, you have several major 'monoline' credit card issuers e.g. capital one You have to remember that people who borrow on credit cards (as opposed to just using them as a payment card) are not for the most part low risk borrowers. also worth noting that the consumer credit directive 2008 is a maximum harmonisation directive and applies to most consumer credit agreements in the UK - so whatever the intentions of the folk in the debate - the truth is that the government actually has very little opportunity for legislative change.

How important is it for the party to articulate a clear response to Mervyn King's fear that no-one is confronting the issue of moral hazard in the banking industry? (this could probably be expressed better!)

Sunder, I think the lack of due diligence is on the part of Miliband an co. So desperate to make a political attack, that he followed along with the ill-thought through group-think of the British left. Or perhaps he is cynically calculating that overseas politicians are unlikely to have the time or inclination to take him on in the courts (for defamation). Either way, it's shameful. On the subject of politicians' pasts/youthful idiocies, I have yet to hear any apologies for the communist pasts of many senior labour politicians. Not one.

Good luck Priti. Best, Michael P-W

The statistics cited are awful and demand a response but the detail of this proposal is unclear to me. "We propose the establishment of Enterprise Portals up and down the country. Each Portal would be administered at a local authority level and act as a gateway for local public services to work with small businesses. Participating small businesses giving up their time would enjoy an exemption from paying business rates." What exactly are we getting in return for the exemption? Is there any commitment to take on apprentices? what will the local businesses be providing when they give up their time? how much time? Whilst the idea of a local solution is attractive, this idea does sound unwieldy and bureaucratic. Would the invisible children not be more likely to benefit if we simply used the money to cut the lower rate of corporation tax applicable to small businesses? (I'm no tax expert but last time I checked - a long time ago! - there were 2 rates of corporation tax based on the size of the business)

Tim M, has A Lansley done an "any questions for.."?...

I have heard Anne Milton speak and like her but I'm not sure if she has the ability to handle such a massive brief or would devote any more time to it than Andrew Lansley does. I think Lansley definitely needs to be higher profile. This is ground we must fight on

The idea that we won't be able to do business with European leaders if we're not in the EPP is wide of the mark. It underestimates the UK's economic strength and the importance of the UK market to other EU member states. In short, it is mere propagada. And in any case, I don't see that our negotiations with the EU have been very successful whilst in the EPP. No movement on CAP but movement on the rebate etc - of course this is Blair's fault

andrew, maybe it's an elaborate sting

M & S mints? Tim, are you a sucker for a bit of re-branding!? Wiltshire is certainly a fine part of the world

Patten is out of order. Cameron was clear about this before he was elected and as we all know he got a clear mandate. more ammunition for blair and co

If any job or position creates even the slightest arguable doubt about a candidate's eligibility, that candidate must surely resign from the job/position immediately after selection. I don’t know what the legalities are but I would have thought it unwise (easy after the event I know) to select a candidate who holds and wants to retain any other elected position of significance I think the fact that UKIP put up their biggest name is a mitigating factor in terms of the result I don’t think any national conclusions can be drawn from this ONE result. I am always amazed that people are willing to draw national conclusions from by election results.

and Brown may go for a snap election

agreed, there's no real logic, unless he means that we need to see the results of conservative policy reviews. But I don't really think that's where he's coming from at all

KC obviously deserves respect. He has served the party and the country well. But these comments were unhelpful. The party needs to be able to contrast its unity with the feud ridden labour party which has much greater problems (let's not divert the media focus on that). Cameron was only kite flying and the public at large don't care very much about the HRA or a mooted bill of rights. Let's keep things in perspective. Similarly, the public at large don't care about groupings in the EP. I'm in favour of our MEPs sitting alone if necessary.