I never appreciated 'positive heroes' in literature. They are almost always cliches copies of copies until the model is exhausted. I prefer perplexity doubt uncertainty not just because it provides a more 'productive' literary raw material but because that is the way we humans really are.

Perhaps one of the only positive pieces of advice that I was ever given was that supplied by an old courtier who observed: Only two rules really count. Never miss an opportunity to relieve yourself never miss a chance to sit down and rest your feet.

Some people never contribute anything positive to society they may even drain our resources but most of us try to do something better to give back.

I never let my politics supersede my manners.

When you come from desperate poverty and that's exactly what I come from you know that nonsenses are not to be tolerated. I'm not sure who gains from chaos but I know it's not the poor folks in the council flats. The politics of vindictiveness is never ever anything like a solution.

You never know what'll happen in politics.

Every week I read about myself in a magazine about something that I haven't done or some place that I've never been or don't even know. It's just gossip rumors egos and politics.

Macroeconomic policy can never be devoid of politics: it involves fundamental trade-offs and affects different groups differently.

I've done reasonably well over the last 10 years because I took the strategy of language and politics and applied it to the corporate world which has never been done before.

There's people coming in who've never done any politics at all who've never been in a trade union they've never been in a political party they've never done anything but they do feel a kind of urgency.