The worship of youth has diminished - perhaps generally - in recent years.

Investment banking has, in recent years, resembled a casino, and the massive scale of gambling losses has dragged down traditional activities as banks try to rebuild their balance sheets.

Our workforce is very co-operative, very flexible, easy to work with and one of the big selling points. The idea that Britain is still back in the labour market of the '70s is utterly bizarre.

The government increasingly resembles somebody who is trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse.

And humility in politics means accepting that one party doesn't have all the answers; recognising that working in partnership is progress not treachery.

The degree of leverage now being reversed is on a staggering scale, and the underlying global imbalances – notably between the savers and the spenders – will require long and painful adjustment.

I made friends with a boy who was a communist when I was 13 and that broadened my political views, but it also brought me into conflict with my father who was very Right-wing.

If the pendulum swings, it may swing to a combination of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats and, thus, to a period of minority government or coalition, in some form.

When I was a child we were sufficiently well off for me to be a picky eater and I still cannot eat vegetables cooked in the traditional British manner.

I don't feel comfortable with luxury, and I try to stay fairly normal.

The House has noticed the Prime Minister's remarkable transformation in the past few weeks, from Stalin to Mr. Bean.

People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it's served up.

In my experience, there’s no secret to accomplishing almost any goal worth pursuing.

I simply believe that some part of the human Self or Soul is not subject to the laws of space and time.

Evil exemplifies the contemptuous transgression and annihilation of virtue.

If you sit with an enlightened teacher and silent your mind as they go into nirvana, suchness, the pure power of their aura will bring you on a journey into the world of perfection.

For me, a muse is someone who looks glamorous but is quite passive, whereas I was very hard-working. I worked from 9am to sometimes 9pm, or even 2am. I certainly wasn't passive

Women with pasts interest men because they hope history will repeat itself.

I don't like self-righteous people," I say. "What's to like?" says Haymitch, who begins sucking the dregs out of the empty bottles.

I don't want to become known as just a body.

Others may be able to accept standards from another, but an artist is a person who decides.