The events of the Holocaust viewed through the eyes of Anne Frank are a unique and damming testament to the dreadful atrocities of that period of our history

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.

If you caress me one more time, you will melt the butter on my toast.

I unwrapped my love for her like one might unwrap leftovers. Gotta eat up the old stuff first, as a cannibal might say in a retirement home.

The virtue of a man ought to be measured not by his extraordinary exertions, but by his every-day conduct.

A little of what you call frippery is very necessary towards looking like the rest of the world.

Compassion is the wish for another being to be free from suffering; love is wanting them to have happiness.

The sun sets in the west (just about everyone knows that), but Sunset Towers faced east. Strange!

As a reader myself, which precedes my being a writer, of course, I read in order to enter another world.

I don't know any jokes, which is embarrassing. I wish I did.

Creative words generate energy; negative words drain out energy.

If you are living out of a sense of obligation you are slave.