Frances O'Grady Quotes

Each day more coalition MPs in seats outside the South East come out against George Osborne's regional pay cut plans, and Vince Cable now claims they are dead.

I cherish the creation of public space and services, especially health, housing and the comprehensive education system which dared to give so many of us ideas 'above our station.'

I am a feminist and I have no problems being called that.

I suspect there are people in all walks of life who need to be dragged into the 21st century in terms of attitudes towards women.

The UK has a poor investment record. According to IMF data, we have come seventh out of the top seven industrialised countries since 1999.

I'd be happy to have regular face-to-face meetings at Downing Street with David Cameron to argue the case for alternative economic policies.

When I look at my daughter, who's 24, she is much more confident than I ever was and her expectations are higher. But I worry that there is a backlash brewing against progress on equality.

A vision of Europe fit for the 21st century and a practical plan to deliver strong rights, decent jobs and livelihoods, with strong unions at its heart, is one worth fighting for.

You just wish sometimes that people would treat you like a human being rather than seeing your gender first and who you are second.

I think being a mother helps keep your feet on the ground. There's very little dignity in parenthood. It's a great leveller.

I like independent films... European films. I do go and see popular films as well because my kids force me.

Governments of all stripes want to deliver growth and rebalance their economies now that they have learned the hard way that, left to their own devices, markets pick expensive banking losers.

My first hero, as a teenager, was James Connolly. I remember discovering that he was a feminist, and that was an eye-opener, coming from a man of such poverty.

Would I describe myself as new Labour? I'm Labour, organised Labour. I think labels have a limited use and that's where you really get into boy stuff sometimes, just sticking on labels.

I do know what it's like to worry about bills, I do know what it's like to worry about even finding a child-minder, never mind paying them.

A business is good if it gives a decent day's reward for a decent day's work, treats people decently, and gives them a voice at the top.

We too often hear about red tape but what they mean is the vital rights of workers.

I want a society that provides decent jobs for those who can work and decent security for those can't.

I came from a family where joining a union was the expected thing to do. I've always believed that the relationship between an employer and an individual worker is fundamentally unequal.

Ordinary people who have lots of good ideas want more than a suggestion box, and they need a union to represent that thinking.