Charles Kennedy Quotes

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With every day that passes, David Blunkett becomes more insensitive in his language and more intemperate in his actions.

I find no contradiction between being a Highlander, a Scot, a citizen of the U.K. and a citizen of the European Union at one and the same time.

We have a Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales, both elected by fairer votes - involving proportional representation.

I listened to the students on campus in Plymouth, worried about their steadily deepening debts and how on earth they would ever escape them.

People have a huge desire to be listened to, for politicians to take the time to understand their problems.

Quality of life actually begins at home - it's in your street, around your community.

Ours is a stable country. Ours is a sensible country. And ours is a fundamentally decent country.

A society which is liberal democratic cannot have public policy determined upon the basis of who has got the loudest voice - or who can brings things to a halt.

Democracy demands trust. It demands that sense of mutual understanding. And - it's a two way street. You've got to give - as much as you take.

We are no longer a nation of one church; we are a nation of many churches.

Gratification and happiness are becoming important measures of our quality of life.

We Liberal Democrats don't believe we should use the tax structure to champion just one type of family.

Political parties need to look at the different kinds of support that people may need, suited to their way of life, and provide cost-effective solutions.

The terrorist seeks to smash the most fundamental liberty of all: the right to lead our everyday lives on the basic assumption of safety.

I believe when the country feels threatened it is important that we are seen to be working together to find an appropriate structure for dealing with terrorists in our midst.

There is always a temptation for governments: see a problem and announce a quick fix.

The late Roy Jenkins was both a mentor and a personal friend. He was a man of both phenomenal intellect and political achievement in equal measure.

Professionally I would say taking up my constituents' problems is something I continue to enjoy after 22 years as an MP.

Terrorism gravely threatens international peace and security, and as a solution, the power and apparent finality of force are seductive.

Terror can never be defeated by force alone.

Britain is a European power. We cannot change our geography. Our involvement in the politics of European cooperation is one of necessity. Our wealth and our security depend upon it.

By common consent, most European countries support the maintenance of robust welfare states and are comfortable with taxation systems that support them.

I know from my own parents how important active older people are to a local community.

We'll need to revise the tired assumption that people automatically become more conservative as they grow older.

Liberal Democracy is all about extending choice. Give people the option to decide their retirement age, and you immediately extend their freedom in a very significant way.

Many people want to scale back their working hours as they near the end of their careers, but not necessarily to give up work altogether.

It's our job as Liberal Democrats to be an effective opposition - and an increasingly tough one as well.

Fair votes - fundamentally - are about the rights and the interests of the people.

Politics means facing up to hard choices and facing down prejudice, short-termism, the easy, tempting court of knee-jerk public reaction.

I want our party to step up its efforts to reflect and champion the concerns of everybody who has reached the second half of their lives.

Of all the principles which constitute Liberal Democracy, internationalism is the clearest, the most distinctive, and the one with the longest history.

Liberals have been committed to the principles of human rights, international stability, and international justice. They have also sought international solutions to those problems which have demanded collective attention.

When human rights are systematically abused, it raises the question whether it may be legitimate in some circumstances for the international community to intervene within individual states as well as in conflicts between states.

When it comes to our public services, decentralisation means giving power back to those on the front line - our doctors, nurses, teachers and physiotherapists, and our locally elected officials.

Those who use our public services should be able to deal directly with those who manage and deliver them.

Decentralisation is controversial - but that's fine. We should be fearless about having a debate.

We actually believe in hope. But hope requires purpose. And purpose requires direction.

The most special relationships, in my experience, are based on a combination of trust and mutual respect.

The way to defeat international terrorism is through international cooperation based on international law, clear intelligence, and a measured and appropriate military response.

Soon after the 1997 election, I argued that there was no inverse law of political gravity which said that everything which went down had to come back up.

When power is exercised exclusively at the centre, the result is rigidity of rules and alienation of the people subject to those rules.

New Labour needs to realise that family life and the way we raise our children are private matters.

No government body is more notorious for over-legislation than the Department of Trade and Industry.

Speaking to numerous teachers and nurses, I am consistently struck by the sense of mission they have about their work.

Valuing public servants would boost morale among those on the front line of implementing government policy.

Westminster is a jungle - and the hunter can always smell fear on its prey.

In my view, as a country we need to rediscover some of that skepticism about government and revisit that libertarian agenda.

We need a liberal agenda in which government resists the temptation to interfere in the lives of individuals but is equally determined to play an active role where creative action can advance the liberties of all.

In my view, nations together are stronger than when they are isolated. And because they are stronger, their people are more free, not less.

Useful lessons can be learned from our more successful local authorities - as you move into government, it is even more imperative to communicate speedily and persuasively with your members and your voters.

I happen to consider myself a Highlander even before a Scot; I am proud to be British yet feel comfortable as a European citizen.

Courage is a peculiar kind of fear.

There stands no contradiction between giving voice to legitimate anxiety and at the same time, as and when exchange of fire commences, looking to the rest of the country, as well as all of us in the House, to give full moral support to our forces.

Three simple words - freedom, justice and honesty. These sum up what the Liberal Democrats stand for.

There are hard choices to be made in balancing the country's security and an individual's liberties. But it is a choice that has to be faced.

The one thing we can all be sure about in politics is you are as well to expect the unexpected.

I don't want a headline saying 'Kennedy suggests this or implies that.'

My health is good and it's up to me to keep it that way.

For any new leader of any party at any given time it takes time if you are not in government to establish yourself.

With 24-hour news... the story moves on with the media.

We should have high expectations of our children, but politicians should not tell teachers how to meet them.

Immigrants provide skills that we simply cannot afford to do without. They have contributed hugely to Britain's success.

I believe that access to a university education should be based on the ability to learn, not what people can afford. I think there is no more nauseating a sight than politicians pulling up the ladder of opportunity behind them.

Politicians are good at saying how Government must do more, but we must also think carefully about where Government should do less.

I'm a lifelong believer in trade unionism.

We Liberal Democrats believe in dialogue. We believe in cooperation with both sides of industry and between both sides of industry. And we believe in the language of cooperation. We reject the language of confrontation.

You won't catch Liberal Democrats describing trade unionists as wreckers.

I want to see far more decisions taken far closer to the patients, the passengers and the pupils. Far more power for locally and regionally elected politicians who understand best the needs of their areas. And far more say too for the dedicated staff at all levels in health and education.

I am genuinely not an over-the-top kind of person about politics or anything else.

To run an effective political party you need a degree of tribalism, it's the glue that holds everyone together.

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.

If you were to describe me as teetotal, on behalf of my constituency I'd have to sue; that would lose me every vote in the Highlands.

To be seen to be human, provided you're doing your job at the same time, is definitely not a negative, not at all.

I will go out of this world feet first with my Lib Dem membership card in my pocket.

I'm a fully paid-up member of the human race.

Actually, I think it's quite sensible not to take yourself too seriously.

Yes, you need substance in politics - but I think your style also says something about how you arrive at some of your conclusions.

I can hardly think of an occasion when I've got into a stand-up fight with any political opponent. I've got my views, people know what they are, they can agree or they can choose to disagree. I'm not going to waste time just rubbishing everybody else.

I do think there is a great deal of caricature around the House of Commons. It is just that kind of place.

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.

People are not stupid.

Further Education should be about the ability to learn, not the ability to pay - everyone who is able should have the opportunity, regardless of their family background. I don't want to see students struggling with huge debts or frightened off even going to university in the first place.

My approach is always to try to be straight with people, especially about what my party can achieve.

It is true that I entered parliament at the age of 23, and have now been representing the people of my constituency for over twenty years.

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

I'm not someone who dwells upon past events, taking the view that life is too short.

I think that former leaders are best seen occasionally and not too often heard - particularly on the subject of their successors!

The point never to lose sight of is to be guided by the correct thing, as you see it. It's the only way to approach such profound matters and retain your integrity.

I couldn't imagine a day without music. It relaxes and stimulates me in equal measure and I hate the sound of silence - the concept, I mean, not the track by Simon and Garfunkel.

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.

There is no satisfaction to be derived from having had many of our arguments borne out by events.

We would all rather see Iraq resolved successfully.

I think you've got to like people. There are MPs who are either painfully shy or who don't like public speaking or don't socialise very well, and you just think this must be the worst job in the world for them.

It has been the greatest privilege of my adult and public life to have served, for 32 years, as the Member of Parliament for our local Highlands and Islands communities.

A perennial problem that has faced the Scottish Highlands is that, time and again, too many of the more talented young people have had to move elsewhere - even abroad - through a lack of opportunities that should have been available.

Some ministers are fond of talking about a return to Victorian values. We must realise that those Victorian values are being expressed by some of the younger people in this society in shameful and disturbing disregard for other members of their generation who are not as fortunate as they are in having a job.

During my campaign, people of my age and younger said consistently that they would not vote because their votes simply no longer matter and because no government or member of Parliament cared a whit about their problems and their striving for employment.

To involve young people and make sure that the system is more relevant to them in Scotland, we have a clear obligation to implement a policy of home rule.

The government's instinct is to shroud itself in secrecy - to act like the office of a president instead of as a collective cabinet government held to account by the elected House of Commons.

Taking a principled and consistent stance over Iraq has attracted much criticism from our detractors and opponents.

Whatever the eventual judgment, the political implications of Hutton are already clear. A devastating indictment of Labour in power - and of our political system itself.

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