Defence Ministers Of England Great Britain And The United Kingdom

"When I introduced, in 1815, the Corn Bill of that day, I did it...with the greatest reluctance. I was not a Member of the Government; that is to say, I only held a subordinate situation in it—and when the Earl of Liverpool sent to desire that I would move the measure, I took the liberty of expressing to him that I had a great objection to the principle of any Corn Law whatever. I thought then—I have thought ever since—that a Corn Law is in itself an evil to be justified solely by the establishment of some paramount necessity, sufficient to overcome the magnitude of the objection, and to sanction the imposition on the country of what is in itself an evil."

"He had made a sacrifice of many preconceived opinions, of many early predilections, and of many long-cherished notions."

"The King has behaved admirably, and has shown his sincere desire to keep Canning's Government together upon the principles upon which it was formed. It is our duty to do our part to preserve it as long as we can, and to do all in our power not to disappoint his Majesty's expectations, or to thwart his genuine objects. We must forget all that is unpleasant in what has occurred, and act cordially and frankly together. If we do, and start well, depend upon it the country will support the King in his resolution to support us, particularly if we exert ourselves bonâ fide to get rid of, or at least to nullify, the odious distinctions of Whig and Tory, and to get the press, if possible, to support the Government, not so much on account of its individual composition, but because it is the King's Government and founded upon just and honourable principles."

"We certainly do not want a Catholic Association to assist us. If they attempt to excite our fears, they will fail; for they will enlist our pride, at least as strong as any other feeling, against them. We shall betray our duty; we shall do mischief to Ireland; we shall render her incapable of enjoying the benefits which she has lately acquired, or which she may hereafter acquire, unless we make up our minds steadily and firmly to put an end to this Association, which I sincerely believe to be the bane and curse of the country."

"He had always given it as his opinion, that the restrictive system of commerce in this country was founded in error, and calculated to defeat the object for which it was adopted."

"They were not now in the situation of arguing, for the first time, whether they should act on the principle of restriction or not. For not only on the subject of corn, but on all great branches of trade in this country, they had, from time immemorial, proceeded on a system of restriction. And therefore, he contended, they were not now placed in a situation of discussing first principles. They were not now, for the first time, to inquire, whether they were to act on this principle or not. The system had been acted on for a long period, and we could not depart from it without encountering a frightful revulsion, which it would be dreadful to combat. It was not, therefore, a question between restriction and non-restriction—but how they were to apply principles, that had been long called into action, to the existing circumstances of the country. This was the only ground on which he would now recommend the measure he was about to submit to their consideration."

"Mr. Robinson sat down amid demonstrations of applause more loud and more general than perhaps ever before greeted the opening of a ministerial statement of finance."

"The only ground on which I reconciled myself to the fitness of a Corn Law at all was my apprehension—an apprehension which I most sincerely entertained—that this country would become, or might become, more dependent than in prudence she ought to be upon supplies of corn from foreign countries."

"If adverse critics charged him with shallow reasoning and a diffuse diction, his clear and flowing style, and copiousness of illustration, with the art which he certainly possessed of enlivening even dry subjects of finance with classical allusions and pleasant humour, made his speeches always acceptable to a large majority of his hearers."

"Indeed, it would have been impossible for me to have supported a Corn Law as a part of a great system of national policy intended to give uniform and universal protection to native industry, because over and over again I have laid down the opposite principle with reference to protection; and I have shared year after year in measures and arguments, the object of which was to break in the principle of what is called protection to British industry, and to get rid, as speedily as circumstances would permit, first of prohibition, and then of protection, which I have always held to be injurious not only to the country generally, but ultimately to the very interests which it is designed to serve."

"Let me not omit what gave me and all his friends sincere pleasure, that Frederick Robinson highly distinguished himself in the best young man's speech I ever heard in the Parliament. Peel, when he has spoken, has been more flowery, and with more classical allusion; but in readiness, in clear, forcible, and demonstrative language, and in the appearance of an old and able debater, Robinson beat him, and indeed all his contemporaries. Whitbread, who spoke after him, paid him very handsome compliments."

"Equally we have to make sure that British companies are also prepared to train up British workers. The public are very clear, they want to see immigration not stopped but brought properly under control."

"The public voted to leave the European Union. That means freedom of movement has to end."

"I think everybody wants to see an agreement in the end that does respect what the British people voted for last year - makes sure that our cooperation with Europe continues, our trade with Europe continues, our security cooperation with Europe continues."

"[Gibraltar residents] made it very clear they do not want to live under Spanish rule"

"We do not give operational details of the demonstration and shake-down operation of one of our submarines conducting a test with one of our Trident missiles"

"I can assure the House that the capability and effectiveness of the United Kingdom's independent nuclear deterrent is not in doubt. The government has absolute confidence in our deterrent and in the Royal Navy."

"What I can absolutely rule out is that we will not be asking companies to list or publish or name or identify in any way the number of foreign workers they have. We're going to consult with business, and the consultation document hasn't even been published yet, on how we can do more encourage companies - to incentivise them - to look first at the British labour market. And to offer these jobs to British people, which is what the British people would expect, before they import labour more cheaply from abroad... That would mean, for example, asking companies just simply to report their numbers, which we wouldn't publish, we wouldn't identify anybody.""

"We agree that Europe needs to do more, it's facing terrorism, it's facing migration, but simply duplicating or undermining Nato is the wrong way to do it."

"But we're going to continue to oppose any idea of an EU army, or an EU army headquarters which would simply undermine Nato. Nato must remain the cornerstone of our defence and the defence of Europe."

"We have a veto on all EU defence matters and we would oppose any move to create one. In fact, I don't know any European defence minister who wants a European army."

"Our security rests on Nato. No one seriously disputes that. Britain will never be part of an EU army."

"Your own Andrew Neil on a BBC programme said of his appearance with Suliman Gani, a supporter of Daesh Islamic State, that he appeared with him on a platform nine times. And Sadiq Khan said he regretted giving the impression he supported the views of terrorists. Those questions were put to him and he answered them."

"Questions were asked about the platforms he [Sadiq Khan] shared with various extremists, and those questions were asked by not just by us but the media too. Even on your own programme."

"[It is up to the British people to decide whether] we are safer and stronger inside the EU or take what is a big gamble and leave to what is a rather uncertain future."

"At the moment our defence and security rests on Nato, not on the EU, but the EU adds to that security...The EU can do things that Nato cannot. It is through the EU that you exchange criminal records and passenger records and work together on counter-terrorism...We need the collective weight of the EU when you are dealing with Russian aggression or terrorism. You need to be part of these big partnerships."

"We're all Eurosceptics now. I don't see any Euro-fanatics around the Cabinet table."

"The Germans haven't seen our proposal yet, and we haven't seen our proposal yet. That is still being worked on at the moment to see what we can do to prevent whole towns and communities being swamped by huge numbers of migrant workers. In some areas, particularly on the east coast, towns do feel under siege from large numbers of migrant workers and people claiming benefits. It is quite right that we look at that."

"[It is] very important that we take those who voted Remain - and nearly half the country voted Remain - we do try and take them with us."

"[Sacking rebels] sends the wrong message to Remainers"

"We need some alternative arrangements for Northern Ireland - some of that technology is already in place - we need the right to exit the backstop if the negotiations fail, we need some improvements to the political declaration. These aren't the biggest things, but what they do require is some optimism and ambition and above all some energy. We will have a fresh team, a fresh prime minister and there is no reason at all why this can't be done in the next three months."

"[No deal is the] ultimate fall back [and needs to be prepared for] so that our partners are convinced that this is a deadly serious negotiation"

"The talks are clearly not going anywhere. If they are going to include permanent membership of a customs union then frankly we would be better off staying in the EU then we would have a voice in the trade arrangements that are being negotiated. We can't say we are leaving the EU then half stay in it."

"All those involved should be investigated now to find out who this leaker is. Ministers are subject to the Official Secrets Act just like anybody else. It is an offence to divulge secret information from the most secret of all government bodies, which is the National Security Council. It has got to be stopped."

"My fear is that this deal gives us the worst of all worlds."

"This is not a good deal and we need a better deal"

"In recent days allegations have been made about MPs’ conduct, including my own. Many of these have been false but I realise that in the past I have fallen below the high standards that we require of the armed forces which I have the privilege to represent. I have therefore reflected on my position in government and I am resigning as defence secretary."

"All children should be in school and not out protesting and anyone who says otherwise is being very irresponsible."

"[Williamson speaking to The Telegraph.] Everyone is obsessed with Palmerston and Larry the cat, but in the Whip’s office we have a proper pet. I’ve had Cronus since he was a spider-ling, so I have a very paternal sort of approach. It’s very much the same sort of love and care that I give to my spider as I give to all MPs."

"It’s often described as a cool war that we are entering – I would say it is feeling exceptionally chilly at the moment."

"We are always influenced by the work that we do. Having worked in manufacturing you are always inspired by it, whether it’s the design that goes into products, the production, the science, the technology."

"Every parent wants to know their child is getting a great education and I will leave no stone unturned in my drive to deliver that."

"They school strikers] should be learning, they shouldn't be bunking off and it's very irresponsible for people to encourage children to do so."

"Could be juvenile, he could be ridiculous, he could be horrid and at times he wore his ambitions too brazenly and revelled too much in the dark arts and his reputation for skulduggery. Despite the pithy name-calling, brutal caricatures and wild accusations levelled against him, there is a good person under Gavin’s Machiavellian facade. But if you live by the sword, you die by the sword. And he appreciates that more than most."

"I am delighted that a new secretary of state for education was not just educated within the state system but attended a comprehensive school."

"Natural justice demands that the evidence be produced so his reputation can be salvaged - or utterly destroyed!"

""Churchill was 'very keen, able, and broad-minded' and a 'powerful backer', but warned that his weakness was being 'too apt to make up his mind without sufficient knowledge'."

"The complete inscription, in english, says, "In this Town Hall, on the 26th of March, 1918, the Allies entrusted General Foch with the Supreme Command on the Western Front. This decision saved France and the liberty of the world.""

"...Cette decision sauva la France et la liberte du monde. Translated from French to English: ...This decision saved France and the freedom of the world."

"Lloyd George is a real bad 'un. The other members of the War Cabinet seem afraid of him. Milner is a tired, dyspeptic old man. Curzon is a gas-bag. Bonar Law equals Bonar Law."