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….

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.

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.

Politics is much too serious to be taken too seriously; equally, there are many aspects of it so laughable as to be lamentable.

It is the function of creative people to perceive relations between thoughts, or things, or forms of expressions that seem utterly different, and to be able to Connect the seemingly Unconnected".

Land and water are not really separate things, but they are separate words, and we perceive through words.

There's such a thing as moderation even in telling the truth.

It was tough being a single mom. It was tough being in a divorce with children. Very, very hard.

A thought that sometimes makes me hazy: Am I - or are the others crazy?

This is an Aston Martin, Gin.You don't run over dead bodies in an Aston Matin." "Tell that to James Bond

One day I may be meeting you and hearing how you've changed your life by saying, "Farewell to Fat".

The idea that Parliament somehow wasn't going to be able to discuss, debate, question issues around (Brexit) was frankly completely wrong.

The sorrow which calls for help and comfort is not the greatest, nor does it come from the depths of the heart.