But in terms of how people live together, how we minimize the prospects of conflict and maximize the prospects of peace, the place of religion in our society today is essential.
There has to be certainty and there has to be clarity. There can’t be ambiguity, .. This has to be certain, clear in all respects from all the parties so nobody is in any doubt about what the future holds.
Now you may do it badly, you may do it well, some people like you, some people hate you, all the rest of it – but you have got a real motivating life purpose. [on being Prime Minister
I think the journey for a politician goes from wanting to please all the people all the time, to a political leader that realises in the end his responsibility is to decide. And when he decides, he divides.
If we are going to carry on growing, and we will, because no country is going to forfeit its right to economic growth, we have to find a way of doing it sustainably.
But the world is ever more interdependent. Stock markets and economies rise and fall together. Confidence is the key to prosperity. Insecurity spreads like contagion. So people crave stability and order.
We fall for… the theories of betrayal very easily, and one of the things that’s always depressed me about the left, ever since I started in politics, is their ability to imbibe the propaganda of the right and regurgitate it to the left.
The big issue of our time is trying to deal with extremism based on a perversion of religion and how you get peaceful coexistence between people of different faiths and cultures.
You know, one of the things I’ve learnt since coming out of office is how much easier it is to give the advice than take the decision. I mean, you know, it’s tough.
We are going to expand enormously — our economy, our consumption, over the years to come … But the consequences of that on emissions are going to be severe unless we change direction.
