To be free is better than to be unfree – always. Any politician who suggests the opposite should be treated as suspect.

How thin is the crust of order over the fires of human appetite and the lust for naked power.

I usually make up my mind about a man in ten seconds, and I very rarely change it.

I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work.

Geoffrey's personal style was very different from mine. He has a lovely speaking voice, a quiet speaking voice. But at Cabinet we always reported on foreign affairs - we always had this quiet voice. It was so quiet sometimes I had to say 'speak up'. And he gave it in a way which wasn't exactly scintillating. And you know, foreign affairs are interesting. They affect everything that happened to our own way of life, and they are exciting. And so we just diverged.

Socialism lays an bad egg by killing the capitalism that lays the golden eggs

Each generation has to stand up for democracy. It can't take anything for granted and may have to fight fundamental battles anew.