Politician Quotes

My job now, as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, is to take this process forward, and that I'm determined to do, whatever old clippings you dig out and whatever old quotes you put before me.

It's been fascinating watching all those pictures of me with a lot more hair Jeremy, and looking very young. And we've all got things we've said, twenty, thirty years ago, indeed the whole world has changed since then.

I've had very good meetings with Unionist leaders, Democratic Unionist Party, Ian Paisley and his team.

I'm going to be looking forward, asked to be judged on my record, not taken back as has been the - in a sense, the tendency throughout politics in Northern Ireland, is to always look back, always look at what was said a long time ago, instead of looking forward.

I was never Vice Chair of the Troops Out Movement.

I strongly support European sanctions against Mugabe and his ruling clique. We must do all in our power to help the people of Zimbabwe achieve their freedom and prosperity once again.

A lot of leading countries in the world, including the United States and Russia, have to take their responsibilities much more seriously to ensure we are back on the road to peace and stability.

The introduction of religious passion into politics is the end of honest politics, and the introduction of politics into religion is the prostitution of true religion.

The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the right.

In a confrontation with the politics of power, the soft center has always melted away.

I regard freedom of expression as the primary right without which one can not have a proper functioning democracy.

A reasonable doubt is nothing more than a doubt for which reasons can be given. The fact that 1 or 2 men out of 12 differ from the others does not establish that their doubts are reasonable.

I gave up lots of things I love doing: writing, and business, and playing the piano and so on.

I don't think a wise thing at this moment is for Israel to launch a military attack on Iran.

I don't deny that there are problems in the intelligence world, but I would argue that in the UK we try to uphold the highest standards in the world.

I described the euro as a burning building with no exits and so it has proved for some of the countries in it.

I believe we should reframe our response to climate change as an imperative for growth rather than merely being a way of being green or meeting environmental commitments.

Governments that use violence to stop democratic development will not earn themselves respite forever. They will pay an increasingly high price for actions which they can no longer hide from the world with ease, and will find themselves on the wrong side of history.

For the security of the UK, it matters a lot for Somalia to become a more stable place.

Elected presidents are for countries.

Britain does not normally these days play a huge part in peacekeeping.

At a time of such hope and optimism in the Middle East, we cannot let the Libyan government violate every principle of international law and human rights with impunity.

As far as I'm aware, everybody in the shadow cabinet accepts that there's a compelling case on climate change and a strong scientific case.

Ambition is best tempered with self-knowledge!

A generation of children has been betrayed.

You have to have as many defences in place as you possibly can. But even then of course - and it's important to stress this - you cannot guarantee being able to prevent every attack or every kind of attack.

Very few conflicts in the history of the world have been satisfactorily concluded according to a published timetable, because you lose all flexibility in dealing with your opponents.

Time is not on Gaddafi's side. People ask about the exit strategy. It's Colonel Gaddafi who needs an exit strategy because this pressure will only mount and it will be intensified over the coming days and weeks.

I don't think my principles change. I think the way in which you apply those principles to modern society changes.

Egypt is a sovereign nation.