You mustn't confuse the need for effective chairmanship, which is part of the job of the boss, along with the ability to take tough decisions and to lead people.

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.

I can't say I have any confidence in confidence. I have confidence that God is with us in all things, both tender and tough.

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind, Where those of wit and learning, Will always find their kind.

I'm not playing with my brother-in-law today. Would you play with a man who improves his lie and cheats on his score? Well neither would he!

Nothing good has ever been written about the full rotation of a racecar about its roll axis.

You have overburdened your argument with ostentatious erudition.

America is so vast that almost everything said about it is likely to be true, and the opposite is probably equally true.

It is better to begin a great work than to finish a small one.

Never lie, never cheat, never steal.

I am committed to working towards a more transparent, accountable, and ethical federal government worthy of the publics trust.

The entire drug phenomenon of the 1960s happened without the concept of shamanism to help it along.