The worst moment of any campaign is waiting for the sun to rise on the morning of the battle

I have discovered with advancing years that few things are entirely black or white, but more often different shades of grey.

When I was deputy chairman I could travel from Glasgow to Edinburgh without leaving Tory land. In a two-week period I covered every constituency in which we had an MP. There were 14. Now we have only one. We appear to have given up.

I'm passionate again about writing. This is important to me; it's got to be the comeback book.

Actually, Sydney is my second favourite city on earth, I love Sydney, but this is the greatest.

There are defining moments in one's life when you learn about yourself, and you deposit that knowledge in the experience account, so you can draw on it at some later date.

Some people standby you in your darkest hour while others walk away; only a select few march towards you and become even closer friends.