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" Back in 2003, when I was home secretary, I introduced the victim surcharge on offenders to substantially expand the support available and, I hoped, the protection of witnesses who were brave enough to come forward. "

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" For six and a half years, I had responsibility for leading the Labour party policy on education and delivering on our promise of improved opportunities for all our children. "

David Blunkett

Responsibility

Education

Children

" In primary schools, I set two main objectives - to cut infant class sizes and improve literacy and numeracy. "

" We need dynamic and thriving businesses and a skilled and adaptable labour force to produce competitiveness and prosperity. "

" I am totally in favour of reform - but it must be reform that changes the nature of British politics, not simply the makeup or operation of parliament. "

" I am nothing if not a loyalist. After 46 years in the Labour party, I've grown weary of the cry: 'If only we had a new, shining, revamped leader, all would be well.' "

" Being an MP is not a desperately hard life, like going down the pit or working in the steelworks - with which I am all too familiar, having been brought up in the city of Sheffield; and it certainly isn't badly paid compared with any of my constituents. "

" What is it that unites, on the left of British politics, George Orwell, Billy Bragg, Gordon Brown and myself? An understanding that identity and a sense of belonging need to be linked to our commitment to nationhood and a modern form of patriotism. "

" In Sheffield, we need support from the community and for the community. We need integration with no loss of heritage, and a clear appreciation of what is and is not acceptable. "

" In an ageing society, it makes sense to support older adults to develop new skills, prolonging their working lives. "

" We've got to get back to old-fashioned politics that's in touch with the people we seek to represent and to avoid self-inflicted wounds. "

" I am not a parliamentarian. I am a politician. Some MPs leave and are itching to get back. I don't feel that. This is just a work environment. "

" Politics is only worthwhile if you are doing what you believe, regardless of the slings and arrows. "

" Balancing the common good with the freedom and liberty to exercise that individuality has been and remains a challenge for those committed to democracy while understanding that the polis ensures our participation and therefore our citizenship. "

" Faith in technocrats over politicians is not a trend from which Britain is exempt. "

" Where asylum is used as a route to economic migration, it can cause deep resentment in the host community. "

" Speaking for the nation as a whole entails understanding and feeling the pain, as well as understanding the aspiration of the different cultural, social and political make-up of the nation. "

" We must look to an open, tolerant, inclusive England, which embraces the values of a Britain that still leads the world in terms of an open democracy, as well as an understanding of the needs for responsibilities and obligations to run alongside the affirmation of individual rights. "

" Simple numbers of people of a particular age tell us nothing about the condition of their health, the environment in which they live, and the support systems they can afford to pay for. "

" With the commissioning of new schools undertaken by a local director of school standards, decisions will be fair and transparent, rooted in the needs of the local community. The admissions code and the role of the adjudicator will also be strengthened to provide fairness for all children. "

" I've had a guide dog since 1969. Not the same one, of course: I've had five. "

" If, in the name of liberty, we allow individuals to act in a way that damages the wellbeing of the whole, it will inevitably mean the breakdown of mutuality, thereby changing the very nature of our society. "

" Solidarity and interdependence, a sense of worth, a pride and hope in the future: these are positive gains for those who believe in progressive politics and the beneficial role of government, rather than a detriment. "

" In government, you are pressed by the security agencies. They come to you with very good information, and they say, 'You need to do something.' So you do need the breath of scepticism, not cynicism, breathing on them. "

" Let's not allow the voice of the people to be overwhelmed by the siren song of those who opposed regulation, who demanded that government should stand aside and let finance and business run the show. "

" I'm a great aficionado of history. I was deeply affected by seeing the disintegration of any chance of democracy coping with fascism in the Weimar republic, where woolly-minded, well-meaning liberalism actually allowed the forces of darkness to use democracy, to exploit democracy, to overturn democracy. "

" Bishops and judges are some of the best politicians in the world. They know how to manipulate the political process. "

" Yes, it will go through the disciplines that all puppies go through including house training and puppy walking, then at twelve month old it the training becomes a lot more rigorous which has to be done carefully otherwise you are in danger of stressing the dog. "

" At this very moment in time there will be people making, breaking relationships, regretting deeply what they've done, and causing hurt, but that is a fact of life, and if we weren't full of emotion, we'd be automatons, and I don't think people want us to be that. "

" It's not just parliament that requires radical modernisation. It's our democratic processes. "

" Changes to parliamentary procedure won't transform the lives of the people whom I represent. Decentralising, devolving decision-making and renewing civil society will. "