I'm now happily remarried to a good cook, which encourages me to be lazy. I like to think that I'm a new man, but perhaps I'm not. I offset it by doing the ironing, though. She has a small farm in the New Forest with a herd of cattle, so she serves up a steak and kidney pie made with her own beef.

According to the papers, I'm miserable, alienated, and on the brink of resignation. But that's simply not where I am.

Fundamental renegotiation is very, very unlikely to produce any significant change

In my job I meet many outstanding, world class, British based companies. But we need more companies and more jobs in the companies we have.

My college, Fitzwilliam, was pretty good but unfashionable and I lived in digs so I was not part of the cloistered 'old college' environment, which frankly was a bit intimidating. But I worked hard and settled in by exploring politics and girls.

Much of the shadow banking sector, a major contributor to the economic crisis, was also only possible because of taxhaven secrecy.

And humility in politics means accepting that one party doesn't have all the answers; recognising that working in partnership is progress not treachery.