We can help people. We have got to move this economy from its over-dependence on debt. People should have manageable debts, a manageable mortgage.

Britain is not part of the single currency. That is a decision we have taken, a voluntary decision of this country, but as a result are part of a European Union 19 of whose members are rapidly integrating, creating political, fiscal, monetary, economic union to make their currency work. And that is increasingly rubbing up against the operation.

The foundations of a strong economy don't rest alone on the decisions of Chancellors or the spending programmes of government.

What I'm interested in is Britain projecting itself abroad, and through that its values and the things it holds dear. And I don't think you do that by refusing to talk to the world's second-largest economy [China]. In fact, that is positively counter-productive in my view.

We should be looking at putting a limit on the interest that can be charged on things like store cards.You don't want to end up with totally draconian credit controls but you want some common sense. We want cooling-off periods for store cards so people can't take them out and go straight to the counter and buy things.

Britain wants the single currency to be a success. It is massively in our interests that we have a stable financial system on our doorstep.

We have to be pretty tough with mortgage companies and say you have got to give people the chance to work out their debts, sort out future mortgages.