One thing I learned about Gordon Brown is you've got to have the strength to just get in there and take him on. When you first hear him spouting his statistics and boasting about his record, it can be quite intimidating. But over time, shadowing him, I just realised that a lot of it was rubbish; a lot of it was baloney.

You really have to try hard to create space and, at least for a time, stop the political world from rushing in. The important thing is to remain sane.

Our message to China is very clear: we want the U.K. to be China's best partner in the West.

I have done everything I can to move Britain out of the financial danger zone.

The Office for Budget Responsibility correctly stay out of the political debate and do not assess the long-term costs and benefits of E.U. membership.

It's normally the kiss of death to be identified as a rising star, or someone to watch.

Well British pension funds have not been investing the savings of British people in British infrastructure.

I want London to be the global sporting capital.

The biggest single thing that has lifted people out of poverty is free trade.

A generous basic state pension is the least a civilized society should offer those who have worked hard and saved through their whole lives.

Every day, I genuinely count my blessings. One of the greatest things in life is to do a job you really enjoy.

The British people think that if someone is disabled, then they should get all the care and support that we can offer.

We are absolutely going to have to provide fiscal security to people; in other words, we are going to have to show the country and the world that the country can live within its means.

The Conservative Party mustn't sound like the old man on the park bench who says things were better in 1985, or 1955, or 1855.

It's in our interests that the euro is a successful, strong currency.

The Conservative party is at its strongest when it's not the party that says there is no role for government and the state should just get out of the way. That is not a strand of Conservative thinking that, by itself, is enough.

Britain helped create the Internet - Tim Berners Lee created the World Wide Web, one of a long line of British scientists who have given us an outsized role in shaping our own digital future.

Of course the Liberal Democrats are going to say things to try and get attention - but I don't think the country is paying much attention.

Tony Blair was a good politician but not a good Prime Minister, and that's what we don't want to be. We don't want to be just people who are good at winning elections: we want to be good at governing. I think we benefit from having seen the mistakes that we think Tony Blair made in 1997.

If we don't get a grip on government spending, there will be no growth.

I'm tempted to say that Conservative governments are normally elected to clear up the mess left by Labour governments.

The police protect us, and we're going to protect the police.

I came into politics partly because I want to be able to reduce taxes so that individuals have more of their money to spend, so that businesses have more of their money to create jobs, but I believe that lower taxes are sustainable when you get the public finances in order, so I will only make promises I can keep on taxation.

They all said I was a very young guy. Well there is nothing I can do about that but with each day that passes the problem solves itself.

Some things never change, suck up to the government and you get an honour.

I didn't come from a traditional Tory background; it was urban and metropolitan.

Most successful politicians don't let the job swamp their lives.

I believe that I'm entitled to regard my pre-political life as off-limits in terms of what can be looked at and judged.

I'm not going out to parties every night.

Autism is a very serious condition.

I understand the damage the expenses crisis has done to Parliament, and the paramount importance of restoring trust in our politics.

Unless they have disabilities to cope with, no family should get more from living on benefits than the average family gets from going out to work. No more open-ended chequebook.

We need to think deeply about whether we can sustain banks that are not only too big to fail, but potentially too big to bail.

The positive news is that the British economy is continuing to grow and is creating jobs. And it is positive news too that at a time of real international instability we are a safe haven in the storm.

I think you can look at the British economy with confidence.

Every day as Chancellor I see alerts telling me of risks around the world.

I believe in public services.

You cannot tackle Britain's debts without tackling the unreformed welfare system.

I think the British people have a strong sense of what is fair.

Cutting budget deficits can never be just an exercise in economics.

I want Britain to be the home of successful competitive and stable financial services.

I want to see genuine talent rewarded.

Believe me, I understand that most higher rate taxpayers are not the super-rich.

Britain has no divine right to be one of the richest countries in the world.

I think the British people are very, very attached to the idea that the health service is free at the point of use. But there is no reason why every doctor, nurse and teacher in this country has to be employed by the state.

Of all the public services, education is the one I'm most interested in. You get a more dynamic economy, you deal with most social problems, and it's morally right.

I reject absolutely the idea that people should know their place, and know their class.

It's perfectly reasonable in a coalition between two political parties that you get supporters of those parties you know stressing the things they want to stress.

You know the illusion of the cheap money is over and now Britain has to go out there and graft and earn its way and create wealth and prosperity in a very competitive world.

I would say I have taken substantive action to make things easier for people.