Politicians are good at saying how Government must do more, but we must also think carefully about where Government should do less.

To run an effective political party you need a degree of tribalism, it's the glue that holds everyone together.

Courage is a peculiar kind of fear.

The quicker we get rid of the lobby system the better for all of us. I don't think in this day and age it is tenable to have these nods and winks, and on-the-record and off-the-record briefings.

Immigrants provide skills that we simply cannot afford to do without. They have contributed hugely to Britain's success.

Three simple words - freedom, justice and honesty. These sum up what the Liberal Democrats stand for.

Paddy Ashdown is the only party leader who's a trained killer. Although, to be fair, Mrs Thatcher was self taught.

We should have high expectations of our children, but politicians should not tell teachers how to meet them.

My favourite novel is Frederick Forsythe's Day Of The Jackal, the story about the unproven case of this apparent Englishman who was hired to assassinate De Gaulle….

Music and politics are in essence about communication. Without over-stretching the analogy I do feel a sense of rhythm is important in getting your message across.

The one thing we can all be sure about in politics is you are as well to expect the unexpected.

Books hold no passports. There's only one true literary tradition: the human.

At the end of the day the only thing that stays are your words. They linger while you disappear. Hanging in the air like they're on a clothesline, oh how I wish I could let them go.

Man may live and man may die searching for the question why. But if he tries to rule the sky, he must fall.

The greatest gift one can give is thanksgiving. In giving gifts, we give what we can spare, but in giving thanks we give ourselves.

Schopenhauer had been Hitler's philosophical god in the early days. In power it was Nietzsche.

Mistakes are not always the result of someone's ineptitude.

My whole career has been fulfilling my childhood fantasies, playing characters that are larger than life, getting to play a knight, an elf, a prince, and a soldier.

If somebody's in prison for non-violence, drug usage, and never committed a hard crime, they should be pardoned and let out.

We tend to focus on assets and forget about debts. Financial security requires facing up to the big picture: assets minus debts.

If after so much effort and prayer, the matter is not successful, it will be a clear sign that God does not will it.