Thanks to the tabloid campaigns I have many death threats and I was very pleased to get another one the other day.

The present combination of corporate or commercial control theoretically answerable to politically appointed Boards of Governors is not in any sense a democratic enough procedure to control the power the broadcasters have.

The crisis that we inherit when we come to power will be the occasion for fundamental change and not the excuse for postponing it

There's people on the left who say, the ballot box is a waste of time. Forget them. When Mandela voted for the first time at the age of 76 there was a lot of grown men, including me, wept buckets. That was what it was about. It doesn't solve things, but it gives you the mechanism to hold to account the people with power.

I see myself as an old man and an unqualified teacher to the nation. I think being a teacher is probably the most important thing you can be in politics.

Undoubtedly the war with Iraq was a tragedy. I think it was also a crime.

It is tempting to deny, but if you deny you confirm what you won't deny.