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….

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.

Befriending provides a valuable lifeline to many people who feel isolated in their communities often as a result of ill health or poverty. I would like to thank all those who volunteer as befrienders and I hope that your numbers will increase in coming years. Your kindness and hard work is, I know, very much appreciated by those you help.

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

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

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

Courage is a peculiar kind of fear.