I have strengths, and I have weaknesses. I don't pretend to be able to write a great thesis or doctorate - I have no pretensions in that direction.

The late Roy Jenkins was both a mentor and a personal friend. He was a man of both phenomenal intellect and political achievement in equal measure.

Unlike Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, I am not ideologically obsessed with the structure of our rail network; for me it is a matter of practicality.

In the future there cannot be room for ambiguity. They have to make their position absolutely clear before they can expect anyone to respond to it.

I agree on the need for environmental sustainability. It is no good raising gross national income while at the same time destroying natural assets.

The library is seen as a force for self improvement and the pursuit of knowledge. I fear that in many cases this is no longer true, if it ever was.

I am always very grateful that I do not have to rely for my meal on a nationalised dinner service working as well as the Post Office on strike day.

Under my leadership the Liberal Democrats would not be making polite interjections from the sidelines, we would be hammering on the doors of power.

I will put my heart and soul into making sure that the care your son or daughter or mum or dad receives is the same I would want for my own family.

Our most important public service will always be the NHS. And I want to say something clear and unambiguous about the future of the health service.

As we exit the E.U. and reassert ourselves as a great global trading nation, we have a unique opportunity to redefine our relationship with Africa.

Poverty is not just about income: it's about aspiration. It's not just about giving people a couple of extra pounds a week, welcome though that is.

There's much more we can be doing in Parliament, we could be giving more power back to people at local government level, through local referendums.

The EU is not a country and it's not going to become a country, in my view, now or ever in the future. It is a group of countries working together.

People may not know what tier of government has competence over which policy area but they do draw a distinction between the local and the national.

History teaches us that, whatever we say, racists will always distort the words of mainstream politicians to make themselves sound more respectable.

Music, dance, literature and the visual arts open up a rich and intensely rewarding world. It is a world that should not be the preserve of the few.

I'm a great believer in the Arsene Wenger school of management - which is, you don't worry about the opposition, you just get your own act together.

John Major put the 'er' back into Conservative, David Cameron's put the 'Con' into Conservative - and Norman Lamont put the 'vat' into Conservative!

It's no surprise to say I oppose the ban [of Donald Trump].If we only allow free speech for those we already agree with, is that free speech at all?

Everyone now claims to be a moderniser and it's obvious, really. I mean, no one now says 'We need to go backwards... to the days of Lord Salisbury'.

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.

If the basis of trust between the Prime Minister and her Defence Secretary no longer exists, there is no place for me with honour in such a Cabinet.

Nobody in Britain has voted for 4 million people to come here in the last 15 years, and for probably another 3 million to come between now and 2020.

It's a great shame that the head of our established church is not actually prepared to stand up and fight for our Christian culture in this country.

I would use the power of procurement, I would say if you want to do business with the mayor of London, you must pay your staff a London Living Wage.

I'm a proud Londoner, a Brit, European, of Pakistani heritage, a Muslim - we all have multiple layers of identity - that's what makes us who we are.

Some people say that rough sleeping has always existed and always will - that there is nothing that can be done to stop it. That is simply not true.

You do have to do business with and to try to influence people you don't agree with, or find disagreeable, so it's important to stress that balance.

It is the distinguishing glory of Christianity not to rest satisfied with superficial appearances, but to rectify the motives, and purify the heart.

For years I had been disillusioned by the Church of England's compromising on everything. The Catholic Church doesn't care if something is unpopular.

The railways should be run in the best interest of passengers and, overall, taxpayer's money should be spent improving the network, not subsiding it.

There is sort of a hobbit-like element to a lot of British people. They don't want to be told something until they have worked it out for themselves.

Edgy' music has always formed the cornerstone to any teenage rebellion. Most indulge in it precisely because adults like me don't like them doing so.

I'm a prolific tweeter. It allows me to respond to the news of the day or comment on something Jacob Rees-Mogg has said on behalf of my constituents.

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.

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.

You know in my own area of Waltham Forest, we've had many murders as a result of the gang violence and often innocent bystanders get caught up in it.

The UK downgrade will come as little surprise to many. It does not appear to be occurring because the UK is cutting its deficit too far and too fast.

It's about businesses nervous about taking on school leavers because of a mass of red tape. It's about health and safety regulations and green fines.

Our success in Singapore was a Herculean effort by the whole team. Now I am determined to deliver on all we promised. I will be watching like a hawk.

As I say the UK's position on the issue of torture and the use of torture has not changed. Our policy is the same as it has been. We condemn torture.

Obviously local people will have their local voice through the police and crime commissioners that they've elected to determine their local policing.

Kisses are but like sands of gold and silver, found upon the ground which are not worth much themselves but as they promise a mine near too be dig'd.

I don't deny that there are problems in the intelligence world, but I would argue that in the UK we try to uphold the highest standards in the world.

If there’'s one thing above all that sets me apart from Tony Blair, it’s this: I’m not embarrassed to articulate the instincts of the British people.

Underperforming hospitals or units should accept that they have to improve the service they offer or that patients, quite properly, will go elsewhere.

We are not in Afghanistan because girls were not allowed to go to school, but helping them do so will give the Afghan people hope for a better future.

One thing really important is that we set out an agenda of compassionate Conservativism. That's what I've been trying to do in the Justice Department.

Share This Page