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

I clearly believe a lot more than some of my coalition colleagues - Tories - in redistribution and using the tax system for that purpose. I also believe in the government having an active role in the economy, which is having an industrial strategy. I'm not a believer in laissez-faire.

I think what is happening is I think first of all there is confidence in the U.K. economy. We're in a German rather than a Greek position in international financial markets, which is very positive and keeps our debt service costs down, and we're also beginning to see real evidence of rebalancing.

The government increasingly resembles somebody who is trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse.

So I went into government with a clear mind about what the problems were, and what needed to be done.

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.

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.