Last night I was Table Topics Master at Cambridge Speakers’ Club and I invited  members and courageous guests to imagine they were parliamentary candidates trying to win votes.

The role of the TTM is to provide different questions which speakers can respond to totally spontaneously, to make them think on their feet for up to two minutes. I decided to repeat a topic which I did two years ago as TTM in the run-up to the American presidential election. I asked them then to imagine that they were one of the candidates hoping to be selected for the Republicans and Democrats, and to explain their views on different policies.

This is what I said last night, and the questions I asked:

As you know, we are only a matter of weeks a way from a general election. I want you to imagine that you parliamentary candidates, and that you want to be elected as an MP. You can represent any political party of your choice.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to have deep political insights to answer my questions, as long as you have an awareness about what the main issues are concerning us today in Britain. Some of my questions are very light hearted to add some fun, and you certainly don’t need to be a political geek to come up with the answers.

Last time I did this, it went so well that I put the questions on my blog the following day. Amazingly, I was on the train coming home from London when I had a phone call from an American ABC reporter called Summer who wanted to interview me about my views on their election after she had read my post.

1. There has been much controversy recently about climate change. Is it fact or fiction?

2. Only 20 per cent of the MPs are women, meaning women are vastly under-represented in parliament. Would you support all-women shortlists, or what alternative ideas would you propose to increase their numbers?

3. Our old people complain they are always ignored by politicians. What help would you give them?

4. Children in the UK are among Europe’s unhappiest, ranked 24th out of 29 countries. What would you suggest to make them happier?

5. We have run out of land to build new homes on our island, what would your suggestions be to overcome this difficulty?

6. Kids want their voices heard too and they want pocket money to be made mandatory. Would you agree with this and, if so, how much would you recommend?

7. Britain is renowned for its obese population. Who is to blame for this and what would you recommend to make them healthier?

8. Our teachers have come up with an idea. They want Strictly Come Dancing to be made compulsory in schools to get kids away from computer games so they enjoy music and dance, as well as make them fitter. What is your favourite dance, and why?

9. Very few young people are interested in politics. What would you do to change this?

10. Congratulations, you have won the election and are Prime Minister. What pledges would you make in your thank you speech?

I did have some more questions prepared, but that was all we had time for. Do go ahead and answer some of them if you wish.