So, what I say to people is that politics has got to be about principle and values above all. Of course, there are times when you have to make accommodations.

So, what I say to people is that politics has got to be about principle and values above all. Of course, there are times when you have to make accommodations.

But the ability to articulate what you are doing, to be clear about it, and to stick to it is, I think, the essence of political leadership.

We have our own system, ... and journalists in our system are not put in prison for embarrassing the government by revealing things the government might not wish to have revealed. The important thing is that our system, under which journalists can write without fear or favor, should continue.

You don't have to wait until people say they accept everything you say until you are actually prepared to sit down and discuss matters with them.

It is curious that atheists have proved to be so intolerant of those who have a faith.

I suppose I've always carried what is regarded as a bit of unnecessary baggage in Britain. I've always carried the charge that I am an intellectual in politics.