David Blunkett Quotations

My integrity had been called into question; I was being called a liar, and I am not a liar. And I just think it is time that we stop viewing public figures as fair game.

When I'm in London I do have the convenience of being close to St James Park which is also good for me because it gives me an excuse to get out and get some much needed exercise!

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

Children whose parents return to study do much better at school. Offenders who persist with studies are much less likely to reoffend. The national mental health strategy recognises the important role adult learning can play for people recovering from mental illness.

Businesses that fail to develop their staff are twice as likely to collapse. Firms seeking to reposition themselves for the economic upturn need to invest in their staff's flexibility, responsiveness and skills.

We must draw on our early roots and remind people why the Labour party was created and who it sought to represent. We have never been a sectional party promoting self-interest, but instead a force for engaging self-reliance and self-determination.

Despite being in public life, I value my own privacy immensely and would be as concerned as anyone else if I thought my mobile phone records could be easily available to officials across government.

I believe Britishness is defined not on ethnic and exclusive grounds but through shared values; our history of tolerance, openness and internationalism; and our commitment to democracy and liberty, to civic duty and the public space.

I said it's impossible to have an amnesty without ID cards and a clean database, because you firstly don't have any incentives for people to actually come up front and register, and make themselves available, and secondly you have no means of tracking them.

It is a mistake to separate learning for work and for community and personal development.

If you don't create a sense of order and stability, if people do not feel secure, then progressive politics is dead. That is a fact of history. The right has always emerged supreme when destabilisation and insecurity prevail.

Politics is about the participation and engagement of the wider citizenry - to miss that point would doom us to irrelevance.

Strengthening our identity is one way of reinforcing people's confidence and sense of citizenship and well-being.

I have built my reputation on honesty, I have sometimes been too honest.

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.

To make sense of a world in which rapid change and globalisation create genuine insecurity, we need benchmarks by which we can judge our actions and their long-term impact.

I was affected by the harshness of government, the reality of 16-hour days, and the pressures of modern communications.

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.

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

It would be dangerous territory if I wasn't practising what I preach which is to always accept responsibility, always accept the consequences of your actions.

I have always been honest about my recollection of events.

I'm in favour of a sensible development of response units and their deployment in any circumstance where there may be a risk to the officers themselves or the neighbourhood they're in. I'm not in favour of a blanket arming of the police.

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.

As education and employment secretary in 1997, I inherited hundreds of schools where the roofs leaked, the windows rattled, and they relied entirely on outside toilets.

Much extremist activity falls short of directly inciting people to violence or other crimes and so is not caught by laws on incitement. Neither does the Public Order Act, used to protect groups of people from harassment, deal with the problem.

Nothing is more important for young people than enhancing their life chances, liberating their potential and encouraging their contribution to a globally competitive and modern economy.

We didn't consider closing Heathrow Airport because those who are threatening us would have been the victors,

What I am clear about is that I have made a mistake, ... I thought there was going to be increasing damage done to the government by me.

Throughout my political life, I've not been a stranger to controversy.

There are some really good experiments with the youth offending service, joining up youth offending teams with the youth justice board, and good local authority and primary care trusts working together.

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.

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

So good on them. And whether it is a year or two years, it actually will be a sensible process of combining the talents that we have.

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.

Sir John was an excellent Commissioner and I was proud he invited me to speak at a number of his farewells.

My job as Labour Home Secretary is to ensure people are prepared to listen to us when we take on our opponents across the political spectrum.

No one is going macho, no one's trying to do this for the sake of promoting some sort of vitriolic or anti-human rights agenda,

None of this is intended to stifle free speech, dialogue or debate, ... Fair comment is not at risk ... Only the incitement to hate.

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

My sense is that there is a new understanding, yes.

I didn't come into politics to have to deal with the issue of clandestine entry, illegal working, or an asylum system that allows a free run for right-wing bigots.

I believe that, if the parole board decide it's necessary, such offenders should stay behind bars for the whole of their sentence and then be closely supervised for years after their release.

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 have made mistakes in the past, but when I have, I have always said so.

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.

If I pleaded guilty to a mistake while I was home secretary, it wasn't that I didn't get tough - my God, I put immigration and security officials on French soil for the first time.

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.

I encouraged Tony to serve out as much of this term as he can as PM. I think that's what he'll do, and I hope he'll want me to do this job through that period. I think he will.

If surveillance infiltrates our homes and personal relationships, that is a gross breach of our human and civil rights.

The people we are dealing with are sophisticated, well organized and entirely ruthless, but they are also in a position to exploit the very freedoms we seek to protect.

History teaches us that, whatever we say, racists will always distort the words of mainstream politicians to make themselves sound more respectable.

Human nature is you get carried away, so we have to protect ourselves from ourselves.

Parents don't believe that lifting life-chances in one school means reducing them in another.

Our first duty is to protect our people.

respecting our fundamental civil liberties and ensuring that they are not exploited.

My view is that heads should roll. There are too many people in the system who simply don't care. I fully support Charles Clarke in getting to the bottom of this.

Judy, we think that since the 11th of September, 2001, we've faced a similar heightened threat level. And we've been enhancing both the exchange of intelligence and security information and the assessment of that information, because that's the crucial element.

It is certainly true that as we grow older, our need for healthcare also grows. It is also true that those who have lived their lives in the most difficult circumstances and experienced the most exhausting and challenging work places need healthcare the most.

It is feasible for someone who comes from a privileged background to understand the privilege they have had and to use the formal political arena in a way that would disperse power and engage with people in their own lives.

May be that's where I might come in,

We need a government which, yes, guarantees basic standards in public services, but which also steps in to protect people's wellbeing as they take part in our consumer democracy - particularly online.

We need to reaffirm that politics is not merely compatible with economic progress and development in the 21st century, but essential to it.

When it comes to those who are accused and their right to defend themselves, it is perfectly reasonable to expect relevant evidence to be made public, and I am in favour of open justice.

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.

We've known all along that the cells that are placed across the world, those who fund those cells believe that we are the enemy.

We have close connections to the rightwing press,

We have a media that presents every politician as being as bad as the next. There is no distinguishing between one good idea or another; no explanation of why constitutional change should be uppermost in the minds of the people I represent.

When I first came into parliament, there was, on average, a by-election every three months - due not to MPs bailing out, but because of the death rate.

We need to use all the resources at our disposal in order to prosper. We need more employment, and we need employment to be spread more fairly across society.

The democratic state can sometimes abuse its power as much as those who seek to destroy it abuse fundamental rights and democratic practices.

We have put over £2bn in the last three years into counter-terrorism and we are developing the electronic border surveillance and identity cards

I personally guarantee that now that bear wouldn't get past Dover without being shot.

And we think that our citizens and yours would be very angry if they thought that we hadnt taken every possible step for prevention and then for joint action in the likelihood of those who threaten our lives and our well- being, taking action at the same time.

Strengthening our identity is one way or reinforcing people's confidence and sense of citizenship and well-being.

I don't think anyone can say I have said one thing in public and done another in private.

I can hear people smile.

I regret the time and resources needed to undertake this but... it is right to lay this accusation to rest.

None of us believe countering terrorism is about party politics

But any perception of this application being speeded up requires me to take responsibility.

I have never tried to fiddle my role as leader of the city of Sheffield, as an MP or as a minister.

I did not in late November start the plethora of linking my private life with public events again.

I must have been a failed football coach in a previous incarnation.

I believe whoever the Labour Party chooses to replace Tony Blair will beat David Cameron.

It is now in Gordon Brown's - and the Labour party's - best interests for those seeking the prime minister's immediate departure to back off

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.

I love the walk although my security team weren't too sure to begin with but I was anxious to be able to lead a near normal life. Whilst walking I do get the chance to meet people and keep in touch.

Reciprocity helps us balance the need for self-determination and creative individuality with mutual hope and, therefore, what might be described as 'solidarity.'

We obviously have the right to go back to Parliament and to say 'We, the sovereign body who are elected, are the only ones in the end who are answerable for the protection of security and stability in our country,'

There has been a real change, we've done a good job in the last two years on intelligence. There are 2,700 who will not be here who are often the ringleaders,

We rightly pride ourselves on the safe haven we offer to those genuinely fleeing terror. But our moral obligation and love of freedom does not extend to offering hospitality to terrorists.

Without the political parties and the volunteering work of their members day in, day out, we would have a very different sort of politics and society.

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.

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.

We need to build on what we know works - local oversight of schools to keep a check on performance, timely interventions in schools to support those at risk of failing, and partnerships between schools to help each one to improve.

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

The government must give men and women without power a real say over what happens to them, and the means of engaging in a participative, invigorated and living democracy.

The government wants to be able to attack extremism and hatred wherever it occurs.

To punish MPs because of the distance they live from London - those with fast train journeys quite close to London as well as those at some distance from both the capital or an appropriate airport - is perverse, but also dangerous to democracy.

Tony asked me to stay. It could only have damaged the Prime Minister if I had stayed on.

We all accept that there is a compelling need for more effective powers to exclude and remove suspected terrorists from our country,