Politicians From England

"I was appointed Minister of Housing on Saturday, October 17th, 1964. Now it is only the 22nd but, oh dear, it seems a long, long time. It also seems as though I had transferred myself completely to this new life as a Cabinet Minister. In a way it's just the same as I had expected and predicted. The room in which I sit is the same in which I saw Nye Bevan for almost the first time when he was Minister of Health, and already I realize the tremendous effort it requires not to be taken over by the Civil Service. My Minister's room is like a padded cell, and in certain ways I am like a person who is suddenly certified a lunatic and put safely into this great, vast room, cut off from real life and surrounded by male and female trained nurses and attendants. When I am in a good mood they occasionally allow an ordinary human being to come and visit me; but they make sure that I behave right, and that the other person behaves right; and they know how to handle me. Of course, they don't behave quite like nurses because the Civil Service is profoundly deferential – "Yes, Minister! No, Minister! If you wish it, Minister!" and combined with this there is a constant preoccupation to ensure that the Minister does what is correct. The Private Secretary's job is to make sure that when the Minister comes into Whitehall he doesn't let the side or himself down and behaves in accordance with the requirements of the institution. It's also profoundly true that one has only to do absolutely nothing whatsoever in order to be floated forward on the stream. I have forgotten what day it was – indeed, the whole of my life in the last four days has merged into one, curious, single day – when I turned to my Private Secretary, George Moseley, and said, "Now, you must teach me how to handle all this correspondence." And he sat opposite me with his owlish eyes and said to me, "Well, Minister, you see there are three ways of handling it. A letter can either be answered by you personally, in your own handwriting; or we can draft a personal reply for you to sign; or, if the letter is not worth your answering personally, we can draft an official answer." "What’s an official answer?" I asked. "Well, it says the Minister has received your letter and then the Department replies. Anyway, we'll draft all three variants," said Mr Moseley, "and if you just tell us which you want…" "How do I do that?" I asked. "Well, you put all your in-tray into your out-tray," he said, "and if you put it in without a mark on it then we deal with it and you need never see it again.""

"I say to myself that I mustn't let myself be cut off in there, and yet the moment I enter my bag is taken out of my hand, I'm pushed in, shepherded, nursed and above all cut off, alone... Whitehall envelops me."

"In British eyes Mr Crossman is somewhat lacking in team spirit, and on more than one occasion his restless ambition has led him not only to take unjustifiable risks but to defy regulations which other temporary Civil Servants may find irksome but have to obey. On the other hand, with his agile mind, his almost daemonic energy, his considerable skill in broadcasting and in leaflet-writing, he has made a remarkable contribution to the whole technique of political warfare, especially in connection with military operations; and in making a final estimate of his work I have no hesitation in stating that his virtues greatly outweigh his faults. In other words, if he does not win a prize for good conduct, he certainly deserves a commendation for distinguished service."

"Your proposals are in fact far more revolutionary in their effects than an electoral promise to nationalise ICI and most of engineering. If I was perverse, I would say that they are diabolically and cunningly left-wing and Nye [Bevan] should have been clever enough to think them up. But you put them forward as ways of ensuring a calm evolution towards higher living standards and more personal freedom."

"I suppose that as the virtues of our new comprehensives gradually become more widely known, the middle classes will get over the guilt that makes them pay so heavily for private schooling long after they have given up paying for private hospitalization. But I have no doubt that an ever-increasing number of young parents would be happier if a wicked socialist government compelled them to give up freedom of educational choice and accept compulsory state schooling for their sons and daughters."

"The last ten years have proved that the most backward totalitarian form of Socialism is superior to the decadent type of Capitalism we have in the Western World."

"The spirit of the youth movement still inspires many of the young officers in the labour camps and fills many students with the belief that they are digging the foundation of a new German Socialism, not of the town and the machine but of the fields and the spade."

"Profits, wages and salaries are still determined not by any conditions of national interest or social justice, but by the traditional methods of laisser-faire. Under conditions of full employment, this must result in a continuous inflationary pressure, which undermines the real value of social security and small savings, as well as making our products less competitive in foreign markets and so jeopardising our capacity to maintain the standard of living."

"To realise that the socialist society is not the norm, evolved by material conditions, but the exception, imposed on immoral society by human will and social conscience, is not to emasculate our socialism, but to set ourselves a challenge."

"The main task of socialism to-day is to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of either industrial management or the state bureaucracy—in brief, to distribute responsibility and so to enlarge freedom of choice."

"After all, it is not the pursuit of happiness but the enlargement of freedom which is socialism's aim."

"We have lost our glory, honour, and reputation everywhere but in India. ... Clive—that man not born for a desk—that heaven-born general! He it is true had never learned the arts of war or that skill in doing nothing, which only forty years of service can bring! Yet was he not afraid to attack a numerous army with a handful of men with a magnanimity, a resolution, a determination and an execution that would charm a King of Prussia and with a presence of mind that astonished the Indies."

"You are a very great Bahadur being always victorious over your enemies...you are a well-known invincible...you are a complete prudent."

"He was bold and seemingly frank, rather than apologising; and as secure of having gained sufficient support, or above danger, from his credit or the timidity of his judges, or impotence of his adversaries, he dealt his censures liberally, nay, seemingly without discrimination; and though he appeared to have gained wealth enough to indemnify him, he assumed great merit from having acquired no more, attributing to moderation what probably had been the effect of his prudence. His allusions and applications were happy, and when he was vulgar he was rarely trivial. Scorn of his enemies and even of his judges escaped, yet did but make him more formidable; and while the Ministers and the Parliament sunk before him, he shone eminently as a real great man, who had done great things, and who had the merit of not having committed more (perhaps not worse) villanies, when it appeared that he had known how to be more guilty, even with impunity."

"The fort was more than a mile in circumference; the walls in many places ruinous, the towers inconvenient and decayed, and everything unfavourable to defence. Yet Clive found the means of making an effectual resistance. When the enemy attempted to storm at two breaches, one of fifty and one of ninety feet, he repulsed them with but eighty Europeans and a hundred and fifty sepoys fit for duty; so effectually did he avail himself of his resources, and to such a pitch of fortitude had he exalted the spirit of those under his command."

"Clive, like most men who are born with strong passions and tried by strong temptations, committed great faults. But every person who takes a fair and enlightened view of his whole career must admit that our island, so fertile in heroes and statesmen, has scarcely ever produced a man more truly great either in arms or in council."

"Sabit Jang [‘steady in war’]."

"What I like about Clive Is that he is no longer alive. There is a great deal to be said For being dead."

"Violent and bad, thou art Jehovah's servant still, And e'en to thee a dream may be an angel of his will."

"Leave me my honour, take away my fortune."

"That the Americans will be sooner or later master of all the Spanish possessions and make Cape Horn the boundary of their empire, is beyond a doubt."

"Flower of the Empire, Defender of the Country, the Brave, firm in War."

"As to the fictitious treaty, Lord Clive informed your Committee, That ... Omichund had insisted upon 5 per cent, on all the Nabob's treasures...and threatened, if he did not comply with that demand, he would immediately acquaint Serajah Dowla with what was going on, and Mr. Watts should be put to death:—That when he received this advice, he thought art and policy warrantable in defeating the purposes of such a villain; and that his Lordship himself formed the plan of the fictitious treaty, to which the Committee consented; it was lent to Admiral Watson, who objected to the signing of it; but to the best of his remembrance gave the gentleman who carried it (Mr. Lushington) leave to sign his name upon it:—That his Lordship never made any secret of it; he thinks it warrantable in such a case, and would do it again a hundred times."

"Am I not rather deserving of praise for the moderation which marked my proceedings? Consider the situation in which the victory at Plassey had placed me. A great prince was dependent on my pleasure; an opulent city lay at my mercy, its richest bankers bid against each other for my smiles; I walked through vaults which were thrown open to me alone, piled on either hand with gold and jewels! Mr. Chairman, at this moment I stand astonished at my own moderation!"

"I will not patiently stand by and see a great Empire acquired by great abilities, perseverance and resolution, lost by ignorance and indolence."

"Lord Clive has thus come out of the fiery Trial much brighter than he went into it. His gains are now recorded; and not only, not condemned, but actually approved by Parliament. His reputation too for ability stands higher than ever."

"The reigning Shah whom the victory at Plassey invested with the sovereignty of these Provinces still, it is true, retains his attachment to us, and probably, while he has no other support, will continue to do so; but Mussulmans are so little influenced by gratitude that, should he ever think it his interest to break with us, the obligations he owes us would prove no restraint. ... Moreover, he is advanced in years, and his son is so cruel and worthless a young fellow, and so apparently an enemy to the English, that it will be almost unsafe trusting him with the succession. So small a body as 2000 Europeans will secure us from any apprehensions from either the one or the other; and in case of their daring to be troublesome, enable the Company to take the sovereignty upon themselves. There will be the less difficulty in bringing about such an event, as the natives themselves have no attachment whatever to particular princes; and as under the present Government they have no security for their lives or properties, they would rejoice in so happy an exchange as that of a mild for a despotic government."

"I flatter myself I have made it pretty clear to you that there will be little or no difficulty in obtaining the absolute possession of these rich kingdoms; and that with the Moghul's own consent, on condition of paying him less than a fifth of the revenues thereof. Now I leave you to judge whether an income yearly of upwards of two millions sterling, with the possession of three provinces abounding in the most valuable productions of nature and of art, be an object deserving the public attention; and whether it be worth the nation's while to take the proper measures to secure such an acquisition; an acquisition which, under the management of so able and disinterested a Minister, would prove a source of immense wealth to the kingdom, and might in time be appropriated in part as a fund towards diminishing the heavy load of debt under which we at present labour. Add to these advantages the influence we shall thereby acquire over the several European nations engaged in the commerce here, which these could no longer carry on but through our indulgence, and under such limitations as we should think fit to prescribe. It is well worthy consideration that this project may be brought about without draining the mother country, as has been too much the case with our possessions in America."

"The origin of all plunders, the source of all robbery."

"A very few days are elapsed since our arrival; and yet, if we consider what has already come to our knowledge, we cannot hesitate a moment upon the necessity of assuming the power that is in us of conducting, as a Select Committee, the affairs both civil and military of this settlement. What do we hear of, what do we see, but anarchy, confusion, and, what is worse, an almost general corruption."

"The King, a good judge of a fighter, agreed with Pitt in his estimate of Clive. When asked to allow a young lord to go and learn the art of war in Germany, he growled out, “Pshaw! What can he learn there? If he wants to learn the art of war, let him go to Clive.”"

"I owne I am amazed that private interest could make so many forget what they owe to their country, and come to a resolution that seems to approve of Lord Clive's rapine. No one thinks his services greater than I do, but that can never be a reason to commend him in what certainly opened the door to the fortunes we see daily made in that country."

"Now, more than any time in our history, we will be judged by our capacity for compassion. Our ability to come through this, won’t just be down to what government or businesses do, but by the individual acts of kindness that we show each other. The small business who does everything they can not to lay off their staff. The student who does a shop for their elderly neighbour. The retired nurse who volunteers to cover some shifts in their local hospital. When this is over, and it will be over, we want to look back on this moment and remember the many small acts of kindness done by us and to us. We want to look back on this time and remember how we thought first of others and acted with decency. We want to look back on this time and remember how, in the face of a generation-defining moment, we undertook a collective national effort - and we stood together. It’s on all of us."

"You are highly accountable. That's what I like about it. You are responsible for your investments and either they're good or they're bad ... There are nor many other people to blame, there's nowhere to hide."

"And where the ECHR is an obstacle, I will tackle it. We voted to Leave [the EU] so that we could act as a sovereign nation. The ECHR cannot inhibit our ability to properly control our borders and we shouldn't let it. We need to inject a healthy dose of common sense into the system, and that is what my plan does."

"I want to thank the outgoing Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. His achievement as the first British Asian Prime Minister of our country, the extra effort that will have required, should not be underestimated by anyone. We pay tribute to that today, and we also recognise the dedication and hard work he brought to his leadership."

"Every time there’s been the threat of a rebellion he’s backed down. The one thing you get if you win the leadership of your party is the right to say 'I've won the leadership and I'm going to do this, and we're going to do it and this is what I'm saying we're going to do with the party, and we're going to do it’. He doesn't have the ability to do that because he hasn't got a mandate."

"My personal relationship with him is much better [compared with earlier PM, Boris Johnson]. He phoned me the day he became prime minister, gave me his personal number and we said we would work together on things like Ukraine, if there was a terrorist incident, God forbid, or security issues. But obviously, we would robustly argue with each other on everything else. So it is a different relationship, and a different relationship across the dispatch box."

"The PM has a 'yes man' in position at the Treasury, who won’t resist pressure to spend more, if the economy starts to buckle under the strain of Brexit."

"The Conservative party spent 2022 at war with itself and begins 2023 in an uneasy truce. To keep the peace, Rishi Sunak has to avoid two contentious topics: the past and the future. That doesn’t leave much room for manoeuvre."

"On the Government benches life comes at you fast. Soon you might be fortunate enough to be tapped on the shoulder and be offered a junior ministerial role, then you’ll find yourself attending cabinet, then in the cabinet and then when the prime minister’s position becomes untenable you might end up being called to the highest office. And before you know it you have a bright future behind you and you’re left wondering whether you can credibly be an elder statesman at the age of 44."

"Rishi Sunak’s £330bn Tuesday bailout was rather better received – the scale of the package suggested there was some form of intelligent life in cabinet – but after two days of going through the fine detail, those MPs who were still coming to the Commons had come to the conclusion there was rather less to the chancellor’s plan than had met the eye."

"Good morning, I will shortly be seeing His Majesty the King to offer my resignation as Prime Minister. To the country, I would like to say, first and foremost, I am sorry. I have given this job my all. But you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change, and yours is the only judgement that matters. I have heard your anger, your disappointment; and I take responsibility for this loss. To all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly but without success, I am sorry that we could not deliver what your efforts deserved. It pains me to think how many good colleagues, who contributed so much to their communities and our country, will now no longer sit in the House of Commons. I thank them for their hard work, and their service. Following this result, I will step down as party leader, not immediately, but once the formal arrangements for selecting my successor are in place. It is important that after 14 years in government the Conservative Party rebuilds, but also that it takes up its crucial role in Opposition professionally and effectively. When I first stood here as your Prime Minister, I told you the most important task I had was to return stability to our economy. Inflation is back to target, mortgage rates are falling, and growth has returned. We have enhanced our standing in the world, rebuilding relations with allies, leading global efforts to support Ukraine, and becoming the home of the new generation of transformative technologies. And our United Kingdom is stronger too: with the Windsor Framework, devolution restored in Northern Ireland, and our Union strengthened. I’m proud of those achievements. I believe this country is safer, stronger, and more secure than it was 20 months ago. And it is more prosperous, fairer, and resilient than it was in 2010. Whilst he has been my political opponent, Sir Keir Starmer will shortly become our Prime Minister. In this job, his successes will be all our successes, and I wish him and his family well. Whatever our disagreements in this campaign, he is a decent, public-spirited man, who I respect. He and his family deserve the very best of our understanding, as they make the huge transition to their new lives behind this door, and as he grapples with this most demanding of jobs in an increasingly unstable world. I would like to thank my colleagues, my Cabinet, the Civil Service - especially here in Downing Street, the team at Chequers, my staff, CCHQ, but most of all I would like to express my gratitude to my wife Akshata and our beautiful daughters. I can never thank them enough for the sacrifices they have made so that I might serve our country. One of the most remarkable things about Britain is just how unremarkable it is, that two generations after my grandparents came here with little, I could become Prime Minister and that I could watch my two young daughters light Diwali candles on the steps in Downing Street. We must hold true to that idea of who we are, that vision of kindness, decency, and tolerance that has always been the British way. This is a difficult day, at the end of a number of difficult days. But I leave this job honoured to have been your Prime Minister. This is the best country in the world and that is thanks entirely to you, the British people, the true source of all our achievements, our strengths, and our greatness. Thank you.""

"[Asked to mention something he lacked while growing up] There'll be all sorts of things that I would've wanted as a kid that I couldn't have. Famously, Sky TV, so that was something that we never had growing up actually."

"In our politics, we can argue vigorously, as the prime minister and I did over the past six weeks, but still respect each other, and whatever disputes we have in this parliament, I know that everyone in this house will not lose sight of the fact that we are all motivated by our desire to serve our constituents, our country, and advance the principles that we honourably believe in."

"Prime Minister, having been able to get so much done previously, I have struggled even to hold the line in recent months. The problem is not that the government is hostile to the environment, it is that you, our Prime Minister, are simply uninterested. That signal, or lack of it, has trickled down through Whitehall and caused a kind of paralysis."

"Lee's comments weren't acceptable, they were wrong. That's why he's had the whip suspended."

"I think it's incumbent on all of us, especially those elected to parliament, not to inflame our debates in a way that's harmful to others."

"Words matter, especially in the current environment where tensions are running high. I think it's incumbent on all of us to choose them carefully."

"We shouldn't be bullied into believing people can be any sex they want to be, they can't. A man is a man and a woman is a woman."