I can hear people smile.

I should have been a Trappist monk.

I have always been honest about my recollection of events.

None of us believe countering terrorism is about party politics

I must have been a failed football coach in a previous incarnation.

I'm as keen as the next person to preserve the right to free speech.

Throughout my political life, I've not been a stranger to controversy.

I have built my reputation on honesty, I have sometimes been too honest.

I have made mistakes in the past, but when I have, I have always said so.

I've had a guide dog since 1969. Not the same one, of course: I've had five.

The government wants to be able to attack extremism and hatred wherever it occurs.

Privacy is a right, but as in any democratic society, it is not an absolute right.

Faith in technocrats over politicians is not a trend from which Britain is exempt.

Human nature is you get carried away, so we have to protect ourselves from ourselves.

I personally guarantee that now that bear wouldn't get past Dover without being shot.

I believe whoever the Labour Party chooses to replace Tony Blair will beat David Cameron.

I don't think anyone can say I have said one thing in public and done another in private.

It is a mistake to separate learning for work and for community and personal development.

But any perception of this application being speeded up requires me to take responsibility.

That is why with enormous regret I have tendered my resignation to the prime minister today.

It's not just parliament that requires radical modernisation. It's our democratic processes.

Parents don't believe that lifting life-chances in one school means reducing them in another.

I did not in late November start the plethora of linking my private life with public events again.

I have never tried to fiddle my role as leader of the city of Sheffield, as an MP or as a minister.

Politics is only worthwhile if you are doing what you believe, regardless of the slings and arrows.

Where asylum is used as a route to economic migration, it can cause deep resentment in the host community.

I regret the time and resources needed to undertake this but... it is right to lay this accusation to rest.

I grew up in one of the most deprived parts of Britain. I know the problems which inner-city children face.

In primary schools, I set two main objectives - to cut infant class sizes and improve literacy and numeracy.

Strengthening our identity is one way or reinforcing people's confidence and sense of citizenship and well-being.

Strengthening our identity is one way of reinforcing people's confidence and sense of citizenship and well-being.

In an ageing society, it makes sense to support older adults to develop new skills, prolonging their working lives.

Being home secretary involves having to face some of the worst of human behaviour and challenges of modern society.

Bishops and judges are some of the best politicians in the world. They know how to manipulate the political process.

As home secretary, I gained a reputation for being 'tough'; less concerned with liberty than with public protection.

I've been fortunate when in government to have a car at my disposal, which takes away the nightmare of getting a taxi.

Being a Labour home secretary in the 21st century means fighting a constant battle against both extreme Right and Left.

If surveillance infiltrates our homes and personal relationships, that is a gross breach of our human and civil rights.

I was affected by the harshness of government, the reality of 16-hour days, and the pressures of modern communications.

We need dynamic and thriving businesses and a skilled and adaptable labour force to produce competitiveness and prosperity.

Politics is about the participation and engagement of the wider citizenry - to miss that point would doom us to irrelevance.

We've got to get back to old-fashioned politics that's in touch with the people we seek to represent and to avoid self-inflicted wounds.

We need to reaffirm that politics is not merely compatible with economic progress and development in the 21st century, but essential to it.

The democratic state can sometimes abuse its power as much as those who seek to destroy it abuse fundamental rights and democratic practices.

I don't like prolonged, highly expensive commissions, especially if they are chaired by judges. We seem to have overwhelming faith in judges.

My job as Labour Home Secretary is to ensure people are prepared to listen to us when we take on our opponents across the political spectrum.

It is now in Gordon Brown's - and the Labour party's - best interests for those seeking the prime minister's immediate departure to back off.

I prefer a positive view of freedom, drawing on another tradition of political thinking that goes all the way back to the ancient Greek polis.

I am not a parliamentarian. I am a politician. Some MPs leave and are itching to get back. I don't feel that. This is just a work environment.

We have put over £2bn in the last three years into counter-terrorism and we are developing the electronic border surveillance and identity cards

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