68 quotes found
"One of the main purposes of university is to encourage people to think. But education for its own sake is a bit dodgy, too. The idea that you can learn about the world sitting in your study just reading books is not quite right... If we had less people studying philosophy, that would be unfortunate. I feel very less occupied by classics."
"I don't mind there being some medievalists around for ornamental purposes, but there is no reason for the State to pay for them."
"I am not in any way opposed to medieval studies (or for that matter Latin)."
"The fact is, we're looking for a very small number of very evil needles in a very large haystack, which is the city of London."
"Sexism in politics is nothing new when you're standing for election. But don't stand for election and it's almost as bad. Shockingly, David Cameron thought it acceptable to claim this week that my decision not to run for the Labour leadership was because my husband, Ed Balls, "stopped [me] from standing.""
"I decided I don't want to go for the top job now. I could be working for another 25 years and I'd like to be reading bedtime stories to my children for another two or three years."
"I have to say, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Ministers are like fraudsters in the fairy tale, telling gullible Liberal Democrat MPs about the beautiful progressive clothes that the emperor is wearing, if only they are clever enough and loyal enough to see them. And desperately, we have Liberal Democrats clinging to shreds of invisible cloth, reaching deep into their Liberal and Conservative history to pretend that they can be progressive now. They are claiming that Keynes might have backed the Budget. They are calling on Beveridge for support, kidding themselves that they can call on their history and that they are following in the footsteps of great liberal Conservatives like Winston Churchill, who supported the minimum wage, but the truth is that the emperor has no clothes. The truth is that if you look at the detail, the Budget is nastier than any brought in by Margaret Thatcher. Instead of Churchill, Keynes or the founders of the welfare state, the Liberal Democrats have signed up, with the Right Honourable Member for Chingford and his Chancellor, to cut support for the poor. It is perhaps apt that in this week of World Cup disappointments, it was actually a footballer who got it right. In 2002, after England were defeated in the World Cup by Brazil, Gareth Southgate reflected ruefully on England's performance and said: "We were expecting Winston Churchill and instead got Iain Duncan Smith." That is the reality for the Liberal Democrats now. With all their high hopes, they have betrayed the poor and the vulnerable, whom they stood up to defend. [The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Steve Webb) rose] I will give way to the hon. Gentleman because I know he has a history of supporting people on low incomes and I do not know why he is betraying it now."
"Cut is the Sure Start maternity allowance. Has [the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith] no idea at all that supporting a family and getting the children out of poverty when the babies are born can save money from the public purse for years to come? Instead, he wants to cut support from the babes in their mothers' arms. At least Margaret Thatcher had the grace to wait until the children were weaned before snatching their support."
"Nigel Farage is still trying to whip up fear and hatred towards refugees who are fleeing from conflict. It was extremely ill-judged of him to describe himself as a victim."
"Some in the Labour Party want to blame our defeat only on the leadership. Others want to blame it only on Brexit. Yet it was about both of those things and more. In our towns in Yorkshire, we knocked on thousands of doors trying to persuade people to stick with Labour. Some said they just didn’t want Jeremy Corbyn to be Prime Minister. Others were fearful that we wouldn’t stand up for national security. Some wanted Brexit done and felt angry and let down. We found little enthusiasm for Boris Johnson. One woman told me in tears that she was voting Tory for the first time and she was furious with us for making her feel like she had to do it."
"This dangerous rapist should not be in a women's prison and it should be clear that if someone poses a danger to women and committed crimes against women they should not be being housed in a women's prison."
"She was a formidable intellect and it's no surprise to me or anyone else around here that she's done as well as she has."
"I think the reason she's got so many votes in the Parliamentary Labour Party is because there's nobody, really, who doesn't like and admire Yvette... she doesn't make people feel rivalrous of her."
"She came recommended to me as someone who was very much a Labour person but also a very clever economist so I was very much looking forward to meeting her. And then this slip of a girl raced up at party conference and said 'I'm Yvette' and when I thought of all the experience she had had and all the brains that she had, it seemed to be impossible that someone so young was that person. She is very remarkable because she combines being very, very clever without any shred of arrogance which is quite unusual in a politician, I have to say. She also combines being very steely and determined but without being macho [...] She doesn't talk in a way that excludes people, so on the GMTV sofa, she can speak to people in a way that they understand."
"She's very sharp analytically; she gets to the absolute core of an issue very quickly. Certainly, seeing her in action with officials, they know they going to have to be well-briefed. So she's a very clever person; a good operator and also a pretty decent human being which is important in politics and a bit rare."
"I've been rather warming to Yvette Cooper over the last year or two. She was one of those new Labour women whom Tories loved to hate at first. I found her pretty irritating. There was something slightly cold and zombie-like in which she used the apparatchik-speak language of New Labour politics and never really seemed to engage with people. She seemed too much like an operative and not enough like a minister. But I've noticed her changing. She's relaxed. She's got funnier."
"They are going up and down the country, stirring up apathy."
"I always think that it is entirely wrong to prejudge the past."
"[A Conservative government would operate a glasshouse system of detention centres for some of those young people] so that they receive a short sharp shock treatment which I hope will deter at least some of them from getting enmeshed deeper in the mire of crime."
"Encountered Willie Whitelaw at dinner. He came in rather late and then started to tell me how absolutely ghastly life was with that awful woman, how he was thinking of resigning (from the Shadow Cabinet), what was my advice, etc. So I said, "On the whole, don't resign, Willie." "Oh, good," he said. "No, don't resign," I said, "but distance yourself." "Quite right, quite right," he said, "quite right. It's better not to resign, but distance myself. That's right." A long and typical conversation with him, not to be taken too seriously."
"Every prime minister needs a Willie."
"My own family's heritage is Muslim. Myself and my four brothers were brought up to believe in God, but I do not practise any religion. My wife is a practising Christian and the only religion practised in my house is Christianity."
"I didn't expect to have this kind of opportunity to serve the country at this level so soon, but I take it as a huge privilege,"
"With a heavy heart and no enthusiasm, I shall be voting for the UK to remain a member of the European Union."
"The fallout from a ‘leave’ vote this summer would only add to economic turbulence that is, quite possibly, about to engulf the world."
"We are stronger, safer, and better off in a reformed EU. Survey after survey shows that small businesses - the backbone of our economy - want to stay inside the EU rather than take a leap in the dark."
"[The High Court case that could delay the Brexit process is] a clear attempt to frustrate the will of the British people"
"It was a clear result, clear instructions were issued... by the British people to their politicians saying: We need a decision. Now it's our job as politicians to get on with it."
"It immediately impacted me. I'm a second-generation migrant, my parents came to this country from Pakistan, just like the Windrush generation, obviously a different part of the world, from South Asia not the Caribbean, but other than that, similar in almost every way."
"[There must be] no safe spaces in the UK for terrorists to spread their vile views, or for them to plan and carry out attacks and no safe spaces online for terrorist propaganda and technical expertise to be shared, and for people to be radicalised in a matter of weeks"
"I've been impressed by the progress the likes of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and Apple have made on counter-terrorism. Now I want to see the same level of commitment from these companies and others for child sexual exploitation."
"[It is] unequivocally, crystal clear this was the act of the Russian state - two Russian nationals sent to Britain with the sole purpose of carrying out a reckless assassination attempt"
"We need to make people understand that if you are a middle-class drug user and you sort of think, 'Well, I'm not doing any damage, I know what I'm doing,' well, there's a whole supply chain that goes into that. Youths whose lives have been abused, the county lines, other drug takers being abused, crime being encouraged. You are not innocent - no one is innocent if they are taking illegal drugs."
"Across our immigration system, no-one should face a demand to supply DNA evidence and no-one should have been penalised for not providing it."
"When it comes to gang-based child exploitation it is self-evident to anyone who cares to look that if you look at all the recent high-profile cases there is a high proportion of men that have Pakistani heritage."
"There could be - I'm not saying that there are - there could be some cultural reasons from the communities that these men came from that could lead to this kind of behaviour."
"I'm the British home secretary and my job is to protect the British public, to do what I think is right to protect the British public. That's my number one job."
"[The UK will remain] one of the safest countries in the world [in the event of a no-deal Brexit]."
"FGM is child abuse. I am determined to stamp out this despicable and medieval practice. We will do all we can to protect girls at risk."
"People should not be taking this very dangerous journey and, if they do, we also need to send a very strong message that you won't succeed. 'You are coming from France, which is a safe country. In almost every case you are claiming asylum in the UK but if you were a real, genuine asylum seeker then you could have done that in another safe country'."
"As home secretary, I am committed to doing everything in my power to ensure Britain does not become a safe haven for anyone who supports violence or abuse against Jewish people."
"[Hezbollah is] continuing in its attempts to destabilise the fragile situation in the Middle East"
"Young people are being murdered across the country, it can't go on."
"I want serious violence to be treated by all parts of government, all parts of the public sector, like a disease and I want us to tackle it the same way - everyone would come together."
"Tech companies must do more to stop his messages being broadcast."
"It is wrong and it is illegal. Online platforms have a responsibility not to do the terrorists' work for them. This terrorist filmed his shooting with the intention of spreading his ideology."
"They were simply targeted for being Muslims, as they paid respects to God. My own late father never missed Friday prayers. I often joined him, and I fondly look back on the peaceful moments we shared."
"The police are on the front line in the battle against serious violence and it's vital we give them the right tools to do their jobs."
"They believe, whether they are coming from the far left or far right, that someone's colour should define who they are - or their background, their faith, or something, that characteristic, rather than the content of their character."
"I think in Britain, anyone who is capable, regardless of whether they are Muslim, or Hindu for that matter, or any religion - or no religion - can be prime minister."
"I've asked my officials to work closely with the police and intelligence agencies to urgently review the case for exercising this power in relation to Syria, with a particular focus on Idlib and the north east. Anyone who is in these areas without a legitimate reason should be on notice."
"first and foremost, we must deliver Brexit"
"the British people's frustration and the need to make good on the referendum have never been greater"
"[W]e will not beat the Brexit Party by becoming the Brexit Party"
"One nation is a term that was coined by a prime minister who was a bit of an outsider. Pick a prime minister who is also a bit of an outsider."
"Anyone who takes drugs should be thinking about how they are not just hurting themselves, but about how they are destroying so many countless lives along the way"
"If we got to end of October and the choice was between no deal or no Brexit, I'd pick no deal."
"[The US president endorsed a] vile hate-filled organisation that hates me and people like me"
"With 92 days until the UK leaves the European Union it's vital that we intensify our planning to ensure we are ready"
"We want to get a good deal that abolishes the anti-democratic backstop. But if we can't get a good deal, we'll have to leave without one. This additional £2.1bn will ensure we are ready to leave on 31 October - deal or no-deal."
"We're seeing volatility in the figures and one of the best ways to actually end this volatility is to bring certainty around Brexit and make sure we leave on 31 October."
"I want ... to start to end the snobbishness in some quarters about the quality and importance of a vocational education."
"We will leave on 31 October."
"I remember vividly being called a 'Paki bastard' in the school playground. Like Sayeeda, and so many others, I know what it's like to face prejudice – as a child, in the workplace and in politics. I pay tribute to all those calling out discrimination wherever they see it. We will only defeat racism by working together."
"Sajid Javid is a true champion of our cause. We cannot thank him enough for all he has done to support Holocaust remembrance – including his strong leadership in the development of the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre to be built next to Parliament, as well as his recent commitment to fight antisemitism on university campuses. Sajid Javid is held with huge affection by Holocaust survivors and the wider community – we wish him all the best in his new role and thank him for all he has done."
"Sajid Javid has seized control of his notoriously bloody minded department."
"[Javid acknowledges a "Muslim heritage" but practices no religion] I think deep down he does genuinely care about this stuff [...] Because if you take the definition of Islamophobia, it’s not about religiosity or Islam or whether you're actually a Muslim, it's Muslimness or perceived Muslimness."
"I don't live in London, I live in Yorkshire, I live in a working class constituency. I've known Jon [Lansman] for many years – Jon's been around from the Bennite days. I'm afraid the working classes have always been a big disappointed for Jon and his cult. [[Jeremy Corbyn|[Jeremy] Corbyn]] was a disaster on the doorstep. Everyone knew that he couldn't lead the working class out of a paper bag. Now Jon's developed this Momentum group, this party within a party, aiming to keep the purity, the culture of betrayal goes on. You'll hear it more and more now over the next couple of days as this little cult get their act together. I want them out of the party. I want Momentum gone. Go back to your student politics and your little left wing."