You can gain in your effectiveness as a politician from a wide acquaintance with the world and from a degree of independence that having some outside interests gives.
Someone once claimed I was not really a Yorkshireman!
Remember the No campaign is Conservative people, Labour people, people of no party.
People feel that in too many ways the EU is something that is done to them, not something over which they have a say.
It’s necessary for Israelis and Palestinians to make the compromises that are required to get the direct talks back on track.
I’ve always been opposed myself to prisoners having the vote.
I’m not, nor is anybody I know in government part of a nasty right wing clique.
Yes, I’ve never inherited a penny!
You can see over time whether people are prepared to differ or not.
The people of Britain want a Home Secretary who will give them back their streets. They want a Home Secretary who will speak up for the victim, not the criminal.
The appalling crackdown that we witnessed in Hama and other Syrian cities on 30 and 31 July only erode the regime’s legitimacy and increase resentment. In the absence of an end to the senseless violence and a genuine process of political reform, we will continue to pursue further EU sanctions.
Syria should not belong to one family, to one coterie, or to one party. It belongs to all the people of Syria equally, in all their religious and ethnic diversity.
Spending only what the country can afford, rewarding savings, encouraging independence, supporting marriage: people know that these things are common sense.
It’s really necessary for the United States to continue to give strong leadership to the Middle East peace process, supported by European countries at the same time.
If there’s one thing above all that sets me apart from Tony Blair it is this – I am not embarrassed to articulate the instincts of the British people.
I think the way things have been left after Iraq is that people won’t believe the Government of the day, so they have to know that lessons have been learnt and that all political parties and people, whether they were for or against the invasion of Iraq, have learnt lessons.
At a time of such hope and optimism in the Middle East, we cannot let the Libyan government violate every principle of international law and human rights with impunity.
We are not directly involved in Syria. But we will be working with our partners in the European Union and at the United Nations to see if we can persuade the Syrian authorities to go, as I say, more in that direction of respect for democracy and human rights.
To the hard-working people who set a little bit aside each month, to provide for their children, or to fund their own retirement, I say: you should be rewarded not punished.
Time is not on Gaddafi’s side. People ask about the exit strategy. It’s Colonel Gaddafi who needs an exit strategy because this pressure will only mount and it will be intensified over the coming days and weeks.
When we have a Deputy Prime Minister who tells people not to drive cars but has two Jags himself, and where the Minister who tells people not to have two homes turns out to have nine himself no wonder the public believe politicians are hypocrites.