Quotes

[on Nicholas Ridley]: There he is, the Secretary of State. No in-tray, no out- tray, just an ash-tray.

I want to lead a government humble enough to know its place - where I will always strive to be - and that is on people's side.

One of my first acts as prime minister would be to restore power to Parliament in order to build the trust of the British people in our democracy. Government must be more open and more accountable to Parliament - for example in decisions about peace and war, in public appointments and in a new ministerial code of conduct.

As a politician I have never sought the public eye for its own sake. I have never believed presentation should be a substitute for policy. I do not believe politics is about celebrity.

It is the fighters and believers who change the world, we've changed the world before and we're going to change the world again. And you know our country faces the biggest choice for a generation, so we need to fight, not bow out, not walk away, not give in, not give up but fight; fight to win for Britain. You know because if anyone says fight doesn't get you anywhere, that politics can't make a difference, that all parties are the same then look what we have achieved together since 1997: the winter fuel allowance, the shortest waiting times in history, crime down by a third, the creation of Sure Start, the cancer guarantee, record results in schools, more students than ever, the Disability Discrimination Act, Devolution, Civil Partnerships, peace in Northern Ireland, the Social Chapter, half a million children out of poverty, maternity pay, paternity leave, child benefit at record levels, the Minimum Wage, the ban on cluster bombs, the cancelling of debt, the trebling of aid, the first ever Climate Change Act. That's the Britain we've been building together, that's the change we choose.

I really dislike the trivialisation of politics.

I accept I have to do better in the presentation area. I've got my strengths and I've got my weaknesses. I could present our message a lot better, I'm actually shy by nature rather than extrovert, someone who feels that your actions should speak for themselves, but that's not the way politics works these days.

I am a friend of the military.

Cowell (Simon Cowell) accused me of wavering in my support for The X Factor UK (2004), but I haven't. I'm an X Factor fan, and Peter Mandelson looks after Strictly Come Dancing (2004).

It is important that we have a strong motorcycling industry in this country. (speaking in the House of Commons on 25th February 2010.)

[slip of the tongue during PMQs] The first point of recapitalisation was to save banks that would otherwise have collapsed. And we not only saved the world, er, saved the banks...

[April 2010, when asked "How do you relax?"] I do a lot of tearing around after the kids, a lot of kickabouts and treasure hunts. I also try to run in the park or on the treadmill. I've tried Pilates but running suits me best.

[April 2010] [If you could go back in time, where would you go?] I would love to go back to relive that famous Archie Gemmill goal in the 1978 World Cup. I wouldn't want to hang around for the full-time whistle, however.

[April 2010] [What do you consider your greatest achievement?] Keeping our family life relatively ordinary in the middle of extraordinary circumstances.

[April 2010] [What is the worst thing anyone's said to you?] There's no point dwelling on the worst things people have said - there's a job to do.

[April 2010] [What keeps you awake at night?] You can't do this job without worrying about the big issues that the country faces, but I try not to let these keep me awake at night. The other week, the military band rehearsing for President Zuma's state visit at 3am in Horse Guards Parade did interrupt my sleep though.

[April 2010] [What would your super power be?] Magic medicine. I'd love to be able to fix things for the sick and injured. The NHS is the closest thing to it - that's why I'm such a passionate advocate of our system and its doctors and nurses.

[April 2010] [What do you consider to be your greatest regret?] In retrospect, I think my proposal to Sarah could have been more elegantly worded.

[April 2010] [What makes you depressed?] Unfairness - when people don't reach their full potential just because of where they started out in life.

[April 2010] [Tell us a joke.] How do you call a dinosaur in for its dinner? Tea, Rex!

[April 2010] [What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?] Famously, I'm somewhat impatient.

[April 2010] [What is your guiltiest pleasure?] Online shopping, now that we've convinced various sites that orders from Mr or Mrs Brown at Downing Street aren't a hoax.

[April 2010] [Which living person do you most despise, and why?] I think hate's quite a destructive emotion, and anyway, I despise regimes more than people.

[April 2010] [What is the trait you most deplore in others?] I hate prejudice, discrimination and snobbishness of any kind - it always reflects on the person judging and not the person being judged. Everyone should be treated equally.

[April 2010] [When did you last cry, and why?] When I was reading one of the citations for a lost soldier in Afghanistan. Reading about our heroes makes you incredibly proud, but profoundly sad, too.

[April 2010] [What single thing would improve the quality of your life?] Both the boys sleeping through the night - or at the very least if one wasn't a night owl and the other an early riser.

[April 2010] [What is your ambition?] A future fair for all...

[April 2010] [How would you like to be remembered?] A good husband and father who was given the chance to address some big challenges for the country he loved and left Britain fairer than he found it.

[April 2010] [Which words or phrases do you most overuse?] My staff tease me about having half a dozen stories I tell all the time - apparently my tale about Field Marshal Montgomery has had one too many airings.

[April 2010] [What has been your most embarrassing moment?] When I was a new MP and the Labour party asked me to do a radio call in for a station "down under" but didn't tell me they meant New Zealand. My carefully practised answers about the delights of Australia went down like a lead balloon.

[April 2010] [What is the most important lesson life has taught you?] When something really matters, you should never give up or give in.

I worry about a definition of patriotism that implies we are best on our own, sufficient unto ourselves - almost glorying in isolation. It is sometimes characterised by an appeal to what is interpreted to be the Dunkirk spirit, but in fact we stood alone not out of choice but out of necessity.