The Labour party has never been a socialist party, although there have always been socialists in it - a bit like Christians in the Church of England.

Cabinet members are soon overwhelmed by the insistent demands of running their departments. On the whole, a period in high office consumers intellectual capital; it does not create it....The less ministers know at the outset, the more dependent they are on the only sources of available knowledge; the permanent officials.

It is wholly wrong to blame Marx for what was done in his name, as it is to blame Jesus for what was done in his

We are not just here to manage capitalism but to change society and to define its finer values.

When I saw how the European Union was developing, it was very obvious what they had in mind was not democratic. In Britain, you vote for a government so the government has to listen to you, and if you don't like it you can change it.

I am not a reluctant peer but a persistent commoner

Broadcasting is really too important to be left to the broadcasters.