I should do something about the cigarettes; I quite accept that it's bad for your health, but you know a moderate tipple is positively beneficial and, at certain times, absolutely essential.

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.

We are the cosmos made conscious and life is the means by which the universe understands itself.

A woman set on anything will walk right through the moral crockery without wincing.

Everybody needs that one person that takes you to the right place to see all the positives in your life.

The technical stuff is easy to deal with, it's just supplemental to the plight - it's not a real thing, it's just background to what we're really trying to do.

Everyone is born into a certain era. I wouldn't want to see anyone faced with the circumstances that prevailed at the time, when there were few or no alternatives.

When one loves animals and children too much, one loves them against human beings.

Indeed, a Christian ought to be disposed and prepared to keep in mind that he has to reckon with God every moment of his life.

I love very much to draw animals.

Hard times are purposeful, meant to refine and redirect us. They're not arbitrary or random, and they're definitely not cruel.

Fear, the worst of all enemies can be effectively cured by forced repetition of acts of courage