Daniel Zeichner (Labour)

Cambridge is critical, it’ll probably make the difference between a Labour government and a Conservative government in a hung-parliament.

Labour will continue to invest in higher education, in the health service and in schools whereas it’s quite clear that the conservatives are ideologically opposed to that kind of state.

The economy is the thing that most people are concerned about. But something else which the other candidates seem afraid to talk about is immigration. It comes up all the time particularly in the working class estates and I think it’s reasonable for people to feel worried about it. Labour has a good set of policies that can reassure people when they’re properly explained.

A quarter of the electorate are students, and I think for them the higher education issues, particularly the fees issue, will be important. I’ve supported the NUS’s pledge not to raise the cap in the next parliament. However the Lib Dems keep changing their mind almost on a daily basis.

What I think is clear beyond doubt is that Brown has got the experience. There’s that old question in Washington: who do we call when we want to call Europe? If they want to call Europe the person they call is Gordon Brown. That tells you all you need to know.

Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat)

I understand how Cambridge works, and the issues that matter to people. I'm an academic at the Cavendish, and if elected this would make me one of only a handful of scientists in the House of Commons. I think my values fit with Cambridge's values - I'm on Liberty's national council, working with Shami Chakrabarti to defend our freedoms. I'm concerned about the environment and climate change. I'm an internationalist.

I think we have the best policies, wrapped up in one word, fairness. We want a fair taxation system. We want a fair start for children. And we would scrap tuition fees over six years, starting in year 1 by scrapping final year fees. We want a fair, green economy. And we want a fair political system.

The number one issue is trust. Politics has become too much about spin and presentation, and not enough about facts, values, policy and delivery.

Other issues are also very important - how to fix the economy, how to reduce CO2 emissions and control climate change, how to move people around the country and how to educate them.

I think the student vote is very important. I personally will be going to a number of student events, and of course as a Fellow and former student I know many current students quite well, and the issues they face. We arranged for Nick Clegg to come last week to do a Q&A session for students.

If we make drastic cuts now, we will simply destroy the economy and wreck the weak recovery.  What we are proposing is to cut some spending, and increase it in other areas.

We will cut spending that we don't want - such as ID cards and Trident, and increase spending that we do want - such as scrapping student fees, investing in education, and promoting the green economy.

This is the responsible course - balancing the budget while not slashing the economy immediately, and offering a fairer solution to Britain's economy.

Nick Hillman (Conservative)

I believe that Cambridge should be at the forefront of our country’s economic revival, but that will only happen if we have a good infrastructure, strong businesses and responsive public services.

The current Labour Government has messed up the economy. We need to put it back on track so that we can make all the other changes we need, such as better schools and colleges, an improved NHS and a more generous overseas aid budget.

Across the country, I think the economic situation will be the key issue along with the perceived competence of the leading figures in each party.

I believe we have the best policies for students as we are the only party committed to 10,000 more university places in 2010/11. I am not in favour of higher tuition fees because I do not think universities have explained clearly enough how they are using the current income from fees.

We are committed to substantial – and difficult – changes to bring down the deficit more quickly than the other parties.

However, any reductions in public spending have to be implemented gradually and should focus on waste. Key services, such as the NHS, will be safe under us.

Tony Juniper (Green)

There’s a need for a fresh voice in British politics, which reflects the scale of the challenges that we face as a modern society - the need to reconcile economic recovery with a low carbon future, at the same time as promoting a more equal society which is rich in jobs. At the moment, there isn’t really a coherent approach to these issues by the Government, but rather a piecemeal one, which will prove ineffective in the long term.

I’m hoping that young people who are coming now to vote, many for the first time, will appreciate the need for new voices coming to Parliament. Youngsters who will be joining the workforce in the next twenty to thirty years are concerned by the long term issues which will affect them.

I believe that the main theme of the elections will be change that can be good for both the environment and people. I don’t think the voters are inspired by is the continuing point scoring of the main parties, who seem more intent on gaining power than they are passionate on solving problems.