Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
They all said I was a very young guy. Well there is nothing I can do about that but with each day that passes the problem solves itself.
There is lots of evidence that it is this fear of going into debt that most puts people from poorer backgrounds off going to university.
Many retailers have complained bitterly to me about the complexity of the Carbon Reduction Commitment. It's not a commitment; it's a tax.
Of course the Liberal Democrats are going to say things to try and get attention - but I don't think the country is paying much attention.
Why don't we save and invest in our future and start making the things that millions of Chinese consumers are going to want in the future.
I find China such a fascinating and interesting country. Each time I come back something has changed and it's moved on in leaps and bounds.
Britain wants the single currency to be a success. It is massively in our interests that we have a stable financial system on our doorstep.
A generous basic state pension is the least a civilized society should offer those who have worked hard and saved through their whole lives.
China is absolutely one of the biggest players in the world and if Britain wants to be connected to the world it has to be connected to China.
Britain can choose, as others are, short term fixes and more stimulus. Or we can lead the world with long-term solutions to long-term problems.
Rather than standing back and being left behind, we must make the most of the opportunities that a growing China presents to us here in Britain.
Politics as a parent is fairly demanding; if your parent is in politics, it's fairly demanding, so I make no excuses about taking two weeks off.
If we leave the European Union it's a risk to our economy - it's a risk to pensioners, it's a risk to homeowners, it's a risk to people in work.
We can help people. We have got to move this economy from its over-dependence on debt. People should have manageable debts, a manageable mortgage.
What makes people angry and we are on the side of hard-working people who want to get on in life and they see how government is wasting their money.
I'm fed up with Britain being condemned to this future where we borrow the Chinese in order to buy from the Chinese the things that they make for us.
We have to be pretty tough with mortgage companies and say you have got to give people the chance to work out their debts, sort out future mortgages.
For example at the moment there is a compulsory requirement to buy an annuity. That is something we would get rid of. It puts some people off saving.
The Office for Budget Responsibility correctly stay out of the political debate and do not assess the long-term costs and benefits of E.U. membership.
You really have to try hard to create space and, at least for a time, stop the political world from rushing in. The important thing is to remain sane.
Well you know I've attracted a lot of criticism by, for example, suggesting that child benefit should be taken away from higher rate taxpaying families.
To all companies large and small, I would say this: the British economy is fundamentally strong; we are highly competitive, and we are open for business.
[Banks] have a clear obligation to help get this country off its addiction to debt because they sure as hell helped to get this country addicted to debt.
If we leave the European Union, there will be an immediate economic shock that will hit financial markets. People will not know what the future looks like.
Nuclear power is cost-competitive with other low-carbon technology and is a crucial part of our energy mix, along with new sources of power such as shale gas.
If freedom of movement is to be sustainable, then our publics must see it as freedom to move to work, rather than freedom to choose the most generous benefits.
I've learned to be true to yourself, stick to the big arguments, don't get distracted by the everyday kerfuffle that is in the nature of any democratic system.
Just as we should never balance the budget on the backs of the poor, so it is an economic delusion to think you can balance it only on the wallets of the rich.
If you want to change the way your banking system is regulated, if you want to learn the mistakes of what's gone wrong, then you have to change your government.
It's difficult to see how Syria can have any long-term future with Assad there as president. Many people would never return to that country if that were the case.
It's perfectly reasonable in a coalition between two political parties that you get supporters of those parties you know stressing the things they want to stress.
Leaving the E.U. was not the outcome that I wanted or campaigned, but now that democracy has spoken, we must act on that result. I will fully respect that result.
Of all the public services, education is the one I'm most interested in. You get a more dynamic economy, you deal with most social problems, and it's morally right.
Did I want Britain to remain in the E.U.? Yes. Did I fear the consequences if we quit? Yes. Did I argue passionately for that during the referendum? Absolutely I did.
People should know this of me: I will do what is required to keep our country safe and secure because, in the end, that is what people's livelihoods and jobs rely on.
Let's also teach people about pensions and savings, insurance and the like. But if they aren't already familiar with numbers that won't be as effective as it might be.
Britain needs a simpler tax system which is simple to understand, where there are no loop-holes, where the very rich do not avoid tax by employing expensive accountants
No other chancellor in the long history of the office has felt the need to pass a law in order to convince people he has the political will to implement his own Budget.
Britain should not be forced to make a choice between joining the single currency and leaving the EU, because if we're forced to make that choice we would leave the EU.
I'm a Conservative who believes in lower taxes. They lead to a more enterprising economy. But I'm not somebody who believes you can fund lower taxes by borrowing more money.
You know the illusion of the cheap money is over and now Britain has to go out there and graft and earn its way and create wealth and prosperity in a very competitive world.
The Internet has made us richer, freer, connected and informed in ways its founders could not have dreamt of. It has also become a vector of attack, espionage, crime and harm.
Unless they have disabilities to cope with, no family should get more from living on benefits than the average family gets from going out to work. No more open-ended chequebook.
Only the U.K. can trigger Article 50. And in my judgement, we should only do that when there is a clear view about what new arrangements we are seeking with our European neighbours.
The former pension minister, the Liberal Democrat Steve Webb said I was trying to abolish the lump sum. Instead, we are going to keep the lump sum and abolish the Liberal Democrats.
There are those who are trying to create an anti-business culture in Britain - and we have to stop them. At stake are not pay packages for a few but jobs and prosperity for the many.
We want people to have a stake in the British economy so I am in favour of actually encouraging people to have small shareholdings and feel they've got a stake in our economic future.
We are absolutely going to have to provide fiscal security to people; in other words, we are going to have to show the country and the world that the country can live within its means.
There are plenty of people who don't want change - the Labour Party, some of their militant trade union friends like Unite busy causing strikes at the very beginning of a fragile recovery.
Working people of this country want economic security. The worst possible thing you can do for those families is bust the public finances, have some welfare system this country can't afford.