- I think what actually matters in politics is not where you've come from, but where we're all going to.
- [following the ISIS execution of British aid worker David Haines] They are not Muslims. they are murderers.
- [on the need for Conservative Party reform in 2005] If we play the same tunes, we end up with the same song, we'll end up with the same position in the charts: second.
- Personal responsibility must not mean selfish individualism. There is a 'we' in politics as well as a 'me'.
- We do think there's such a thing as society, we just don't think it's the same thing as the state.
- I'm sure when Morrissey (Morrissey) finds that he's getting an endorsement from the leader of the Conservative Party, he will think 'Heaven knows I'm miserable now'. But I'm a big fan, I'm afraid. Sorry about that.
- The era of big government has run its course. Poverty and inequality have got worse despite Labour's massive expansion of the state. We need new answers now and they will only come from a bigger society, not a bigger government.
- Only millionaires should pay inheritance tax. I'm absolutely clear on that. As the economy recovers and as house prices continue to rise you will find people getting caught by the inheritance net that should not be there.
- I absolutely do believe in a lower tax country and I want to deliver lower marginal rates of tax.
- I am still a low-tax Conservative. Born one, lived one, will die one.
- Take Chinese tourists, for example. We're their 22nd most popular destination. But Germany is forecast to break into their top 10. Why can't we? If we can't always beat Germany at football, then we can beat them at tourism.
- [on Margaret Thatcher] I think the best thing was she just gave back to Britain the chance of having a growing economy. She sorted out the trade unions and the inflation and all of that, and so the economy was growing again, so we had a chance to succeed and we've been succeeding, by and large, ever since. The bad thing was it meant some very difficult decisions, whether that was particular decisions that affected communities in the north of England, in Wales and Scotland where there were difficult times, there's no doubt about that. But in the long term they were the right decisions and I think the way to prove that is the Labour Party, having won the election in 1997, haven't undone a lot of the things that she did.
- I'd rather be a child of Thatcher than a son of Brown.
- [on Ed Balls] Am I alone in finding him the most annoying person in modern politics? I have a feeling the Leader of the Opposition will one day agree with me.
- [on Dennis Skinner] I often say to my children 'no need to go to the Natural History Museum to see a dinosaur, come to the House of Commons at about half past twelve'.
- We're consulting on legalising gay marriage. To anyone who has reservations, I say: Yes, it's about equality, but it's also about something else: commitment. Conservatives believe in the ties that bind us; that society is stronger when we make vows to each other and support each other. So I don't support gay marriage despite being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I'm a Conservative.
- I think in a way we're all Thatcherites now. One of the things about her legacy is some of those big arguments we had everyone now accepts.
- I think some of these schemes - and I think particularly of the Jimmy Carr scheme - I have had time to read about and I just think this is completely wrong. People work hard, they pay their taxes, they save up to go to one of his shows. They buy the tickets. He is taking the money from those tickets and he, as far as I can see, is putting all of that into some very dodgy tax avoiding schemes. That is wrong. There is nothing wrong with people planning their tax affairs to invest in their pension and plan for their retirement - that sort of tax management is fine. But some of these schemes we have seen are quite frankly morally wrong. The government is acting by looking at a general anti-avoidance law but we do need to make progress on this. It is not fair on hardworking people who do the right thing and pay their taxes to see these sorts of scams taking place.
- [on denying heterosexuals equal rights with gay couples of entering civil partnerships] I think we should be promoting marriage rather than looking at any other way of weakening it.
- I am a marriage man, I am a great supporter of marriage. I want to promote marriage, defend marriage, encourage marriage.
- [on supporting gay marriage despite not including it in the Conservative's election manifesto] Put simply, in Britain it will no longer matter whether you are straight or gay - the State will recognise your relationship as equal. This is something that has been very important to me. I have been so lucky to find the most incredible lifelong partner in Sam and our marriage has been a very special part of the commitment we have made to each other. Of course any marriage takes work, requires patience and understanding, give and take - but what it gives back in terms of love, support, stability and happiness is immeasurable. That is not something that the State should ever deny someone on the basis of their sexuality. When people's love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change.
- [on the United Kingdom Independence Party] Fruitcakes and loonies and closet racists, mostly.
- Today we are mourning the loss of an immense British talent. Genius is an overused word, but I think musically, creatively, artistically, David Bowie was a genius. For someone my age, he provided a lot of the soundtrack of our lives. From the first time I heard Space Oddity to watching our athletes appear in those wonderful Olympics to the strains of Heroes. We mourn the loss of a great talent, we think about his family and friends who've lost a loved one too early, and we also celebrate an immense British talent who has enriched all of our lives.
- [when asked about his handling of the National Health Service by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn] Put on a proper suit, do up your tie and sing the national anthem!
- [encouraging Britons to vote in support of staying in the European Union] This will be a once-in-a-generation moment to shape the destiny of our country.
- And I want you to take that argument that the Labour Party made and stick it where the sun don't shine.
- [2015, on e-cigarettes and and whether he could highlight the role they play in helping people give up smoking] Certainly as somebody who has been through this battle a number of times, eventually relatively successfully, lots of people find different ways of doing it and certainly for some people e-cigarettes are successful.
- [on what he has been doing since quitting as an MP] I've bought a hut and taken up smoking.
- I'm British and I am not supposed to show any emotion but I am very sad.
- [describing his proposal as "rather odd" and admitting it had been quite a challenge to win Samantha Cameron's hand in marriage] She's a lot better looking. And yes, when I first proposed, she didn't absolutely leap at it.
- [on The Sound of Music (1965)] As we get on Edelweiss I'm reaching for the Kleenex. I watch that most Christmas or new year when it comes around.
- [If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?] I wish I'd worked harder at speaking another language.
- I loved playing the drums and I had a great teacher actually. But I didn't get that far. I got as far as playing the drums on Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree. I enjoyed it. My problem was, this will sound like a feeble excuse, but I'm left handed and right footed and actually if you're a drummer that can be a bit of a problem. You want to be all left or all right and I was a bit of a mixture. But I remember once having to stand in for a friend who was a very good drummer in a jazz band and standing in for him one evening. And I remember, you know, finding that a real thrill.
- [Setting aside your differences, which one of your political rivals has impressed you most and why?] David Blunkett is a great Labour politician. He overcame huge obstacles, was a tremendous MP for his constituency and worked hard to keep our country safe after 9/11.
- The day after, the Shadow Chancellor was asked on the television, could he think of one single business leader? And you know what he said? You know what he said, Mr Speaker? He said, he said 'Bill Somebody'. Mr Speaker, Bill Somebody's not a person, Bill Somebody's Labour's policy!
- [What is the best attribute you have as a leader or potential Prime Minister?] That's for others to judge - but I do have a strong determination to take the difficult decisions needed to keep the economy healthy and growing.
- Now, Mr Speaker, we hear a lot about identikit professional politicians who all look and sound the same and don't have any real experience of real life. Well, they certainly cannot say that about my honorable Friend. She came into politics because she believed that fishermen needed a voice when they were away at sea, and she has given them that voice. There's also no one in this House who knows better what to do with skate, hake, bass or bream, so I'm hoping that she will give me some tips on how to deal with Salmond and Sturgeon while we're at it. [laughter] Who says puns don't work in the House of Commons?
- [April 2010, when asked "How do you relax?"] I go running twice a week and cycle to work once a week, as well as gardening and playing tennis. My worst health habit is eating fatty foods and eating too much. I'm very greedy. I try to eat healthily. I do lots of cooking and I like growing my own vegetables.
- When I was 14, 15, 16, I was doing things that teenagers do in terms of drinking too much, being caught having the odd fag, things like that.
- [The LGBT figure I most admire is television presenter Clare Balding] Everyone says [Enigma codebreaker] Alan Turing, and of course he was an amazing man and I've seen The Imitation Game and I thought it was brilliant, but I'm going to go with Clare Balding. I'm a big fan. I love her enthusiasm; her zest for life. It doesn't matter what sport she's talking about, she can make it interesting. She's a wonderful human being.
- [My wife] Samantha got me listening to a new thing called The War on Drugs. I can recommend it. They're a band, you can find them on Spotify or iTunes - anyway, they're good!
- [April 2010] [In your role as an MP, of what are you most proud?] Standing up for special schools.
- [on Ken Clarke] I remember one of the toughest conversations I had in politics was actually when I was leader of the opposition and I was trying to get him to join my frontbench and he was on a bird-watching holiday in Patagonia and it was almost impossible to persuade him to come back. Not many people know this but actually his first act as chancellor of the exchequer was to fire me as a special adviser, and I'm very proud of the fact that one of my first acts was to appoint him to my cabinet in the coalition government. He is not always the easiest person to get hold of. We have tried - Tory modernisation has never quite got as far as getting Ken Clarke to carry a mobile phone. He did briefly have one but he said 'the problem is people keep ringing me on it'. And we had to move - I seem to remember, in opposition - we had to move our morning meeting to accommodate his nine o'clock cigar.
- [April 2010] [What is the worst thing anyone's said to you?] I'm getting used to some great abuse - someone wrote to me saying if you want to cut carbon emissions, why don't you stop breathing...
- [April 2010] [What single thing would improve the quality of your life?] The ability to be in two places at once.
- The rumour is that I don't love Larry [the 10 Downing Street cat]. I do. And I have photographic evidence to prove it. [laughter as he produces a large picture of him snuggling with the cat] Sadly I can't take Larry with me. He belongs to the house and the staff love him very much - as do I.
- [Ed Miliband: Mr Speaker, on Monday, the PM announced his retirement plans and he said it was because he believed in giving straight answers to straight questions. Now, after 5 years of PMQs, that was music to my ears, Mr Speaker. So here's a straight question: Will he now rule out a rise in VAT?] In 43 days time I plan to arrange his retirement, Mr Speaker. But he's right, straight answers deserve straight questions and the answer is Yes.
- Elections aren't about records, they're about plans and choices.
- I was the future once.
- I watched, for the 17th and hopefully the last time, The 'Guns of Navarone' on New Year's Eve. I always watch just in case the explosives don't go off in the end. You have to watch the end, just to make sure it's OK.
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