Politicians From Scotland

"As a newly independent WTO member outside the EU, we will continue to fight for trade liberalisation as well as potentially helping developing markets trade their way out of poverty by giving them preferential access to our markets. I believe the UK is in a prime position to become a world leader in free trade because of the brave and historic decision of the British people to leave the European Union. We are leaving the EU, we are not leaving Europe and we are ready to take our place in an open, liberal and competitive globalised trading environment."

"The free trade agreement that we will have to do with the European Union should be one of the easiest in human history.../ /....The only reason that we wouldn’t come to a free and open agreement is because politics gets in the way of economics."

"This country is not the free-trading nation it once was. We have become too lazy, and too fat on our successes in previous generations, companies who could be contributing to our national prosperity - but choose not to because it might be too difficult or too time-consuming or because they can't play golf on a Friday afternoon - we've got to be saying to them if you want to share in the prosperity of our country you have a duty to contribute to the prosperity of our country."

"You can not leave the European Union and be in the single market and the customs union."

"Most new immigrants move into the private rented sector which has grown as the immigrant population has grown. Competition for rented accommodation obliges all those in the private rented sector to pay high rents which take a large share of income and makes saving to buy a home even harder. These resulting high rents and a shortage of housing make it much more difficult for young people to set up home on their own so they have to spend more time in house shares or with their parents."

"[Failure to agree a deal is] not exactly a nightmare scenario"

"I know that within the Tory party the hard Brexiteers are compared to the leaders of the French revolution. I think Gove is Brissot, and Boris Johnson is Danton, and Rees-Mogg is compared to Robespierre. We should not forget that the efforts of these men were not appreciated by the common man they claimed to represent – because they all ended up on the guillotine. So that’s important to remind [them]."

"It is, perhaps, hard to imagine a collaboration between Virgil and Captain W.E. Johns, a fusion of the Aeneid and Biggles Pulls It Off, but that is how Boris Johnson’s memoir reads."

"Michael Gove and I are probably the last two believers in the divine right of kings."

"He [Gove] evoked a support at least for that position [found in Tetlock's book], Expert Political Judgment, in which portions of that book compare subject matter experts to minimalist statistical baselines like extrapolation. Can you predict simple extrapolation algorithms? And the answer was often no. Gove was raising the point that, where do these guys get off making these confident predictions about the consequences of Brexit? And the best empirical evidence would suggest that probably not materially more accurate than simple extrapolation algorithms."

"[On government ministers falling out with "special interest" groups] Very few health secretaries are going to be toasted by doctors, very few educational secretaries are going to get apples from teachers and very few secretary of states in this role are going to get Fortnum & Mason hampers sent to them by the Home Builders Federation."

"It's important that the Government does press ahead with appropriate and thoughtful steps in order to safeguard the environment but there are some specific areas where the cost that is being imposed on individuals risks creating a backlash. [...] We don't want to get to a situation where the support for improving our environment curdles and turns into resistance."

"The assumptions in that document were the product of work done then. We have a new government now, and under this new government we've been taking steps to make sure that we are properly prepared for exit on October 31."

"I think that there are a number of economic factors in play. Some prices may go up. Other prices will come down."

"We have a new government now, and under this new government we've been taking steps to make sure that we are properly prepared for exit on October 31."

"There won't be any delays, we are determined that we are going to leave on October 31st, and it's my job to make sure the country is ready."

"We didn't vote to leave without a deal. That wasn't the message of the campaign I helped lead. During that campaign, we said we should do a deal with the EU and be part of the network of free trade deals that covers all Europe, from Iceland to Turkey."

"We need to be absolutely resolute in tackling racism and prejudice of all kinds"

"No deal is now a very real prospect."

"we must not rule out no deal."

"It's certainly the case that there will be bumps in the road, some element of disruption in the event of no-deal."

"The point that I made in the article is that if any of us lapse sometimes from standards that we uphold, that is human. The thing to do is not necessarily then to say that the standards should be lowered. It should be to reflect on the lapse and to seek to do better in the future."

"It will not be the case that we will have zero-rate tariffs on food products. There will be protections for sensitive sections of agriculture and food production."

"[It is] not enough to believe in Brexit you've also got to be able to deliver it"

"Businesses in Northern Ireland have the opportunity to enjoy the best of both worlds: access to the , because there's no infrastructure on the Island of Ireland, and at the same time unfettered access to the rest of the UK market."

"Full stop to the [Irish border] backstop"

"[I continue to believe Mrs May has the right formula for leaving the EU.] I think the prime minister is doing a great job. I think it is really important that we unite as a party."

"Sadly, there are some in the House of Commons who think they can try to prevent us leaving on October 31st. And as long as they continue to try to make that argument, then that actually gives some heart to some in the European Union that we won't leave on October 31st. The sooner that everyone recognises that we will leave on that day, the quicker we can move towards a good deal in everyone's interests."

"[Brexit was motivated by a desire to] restore faith in our democratic institutions"

"We have a great future outside the European Union and we should be embracing that"

"The new law will reaffirm the UK's global leadership on this critical issue, demonstrating our belief that the abhorrent ivory trade should become a thing of the past. Ivory should never be seen as a commodity for financial gain or a status symbol."

"one of the things we can do is continue to ensure that trees are allowed to survive - rather than by being chopped down by a council which is in thrall to its own officers"

"[I will] make Brexit work not just for citizens but for the animals we love and cherish too"

"[There is] no reason Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe should be in prison in Iran so far as any of us know"

"Animals are sentient beings who feel pain and suffering, so we are writing that principle into law and ensuring that we protect their welfare. Our plans will also increase sentences for those who commit the most heinous acts of animal cruelty to five years in jail. We are a nation of animal lovers so we will make Brexit work not just for citizens but for the animals we love and cherish too."

"My view is that what is emblematic of Britain is the welcome that we gave the Windrush generation, the welcome we gave people fleeing Idi Amin in the 1970s, the welcome that we continue to give those fleeing persecution. And now the fact that outside the European Union we can have a truly colour-blind migration policy that, if the British people want to, treats people from the Bahamas in the same way as we treat people from Bulgaria."

"I am deeply concerned about your unpatriotic attitude towards cheese"

"[Brexit is] a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reform how we care for our land, our rivers and our seas, how we recast our ambition for our country’s environment, and the planet"

"The creation of national parks almost 70 years ago changed the way we view our precious landscapes - helping us all access and enjoy our natural world. We want to make sure they are not only conserved, but enhanced for the next generation. Are we properly supporting all those who live in, work in, or want to visit these magnificent places? Should we indeed be extending our areas of designated land?"

"I have repeatedly said that I do not want to be prime minister. That has always been my view. But events since last Thursday have weighed heavily with me. I respect and admire all the candidates running for the leadership. In particular, I wanted to help build a team behind Boris Johnson so that a politician who argued for leaving the European Union could lead us to a better future. But I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead."

"We don't want to stay in the EU. We voted very clearly, 17.4 million people sent a clear message that we want to leave the European Union, and that means also leaving the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice"

"No-one can be blithe or blase about the real impact on food producers in this country of leaving without a deal."

"[If it] finally comes to a decision between no deal and no Brexit, I will choose no deal"

"I took drugs on several occasions at social events more than 20 years ago. At the time I was a young journalist. It was a mistake. I look back and I think I wish I hadn't done that. I think all politicians have lives before politics. Certainly when I was working as a journalist I didn't imagine I would go into politics or public service. I didn't act with an eye to that. The question now is that people should look at my record as a politician and ask themselves, 'Is this person we see ready to lead now?' I have seen the damage drugs can do to others and that is why I deeply regret the decisions I took,"

"I did almost everything not to be a candidate for the leadership of this party. I was so very reluctant because I know my limitations. Whatever charisma is, I don't have it. Whatever glamour may be, I don't think anyone could ever associate me with it. I am standing for the leadership not as a result of calculation; I am standing with the burning desire to transform our country. Because my heart tells me that if we are bold, if we refuse to settle for business as usual, if we dare to dream and summon up all the qualities that have made this country the greatest in the world, then for Britain - and its people - our best days lie ahead."

"I think it's a shame that the Remain camp are talking this country down"

"Hatred towards people on the basis of their background or faith is repugnant"

"If there are Islamophobes in the Conservative Party - and there are - we should root them out."

"My view is that whatever happens in the future we will be in a strong position to deal with any crises that occur as a result of leaving the EU."

"As I look back on that time, I think that there were mistakes that I made... I also think that my initial instinct that I was not the best person to put themselves forward as a potential prime minister, well most of my colleagues agreed."