Gordon Brown

[on Nicholas Ridley]: There he is, the Secretary of State. No in-tray, no out- tray, just an ash-tray.

I want to lead a government humble enough to know its place - where I will always strive to be - and that is on people's side.

One of my first acts as prime minister would be to restore power to Parliament in order to build the trust of the British people in our democracy. Government must be more open and more accountable to Parliament - for example in decisions about peace and war, in public appointments and in a new ministerial code of conduct. Show less «

As a politician I have never sought the public eye for its own sake. I have never believed presentation should be a substitute for policy. I do not believe politics is about celebrity. Show less «

It is the fighters and believers who change the world, we've changed the world before and we're going to change the world again. And you know our country faces the biggest choice for a generation, so we need to fight, not bow out, not walk away, not give in, not give up but fight; fight to win for Britain. You know because if anyone says fight doesn't get you anywhere, that politics can't make a difference, that all parties are the same then look what we have achieved together since 1997: the winter fuel allowance, the shortest waiting times in history, crime down by a third, the creation of Sure Start, the cancer guarantee, record results in schools, more students than ever, the Disability Discrimination Act, Devolution, Civil Partnerships, peace in Northern Ireland, the Social Chapter, half a million children out of poverty, maternity pay, paternity leave, child benefit at record levels, the Minimum Wage, the ban on cluster bombs, the cancelling of debt, the trebling of aid, the first ever Climate Change Act. That's the Britain we've been building together, that's the change we choose. Show less «

I really dislike the trivialisation of politics.

I accept I have to do better in the presentation area. I've got my strengths and I've got my weaknesses. I could present our message a lot better, I'm actually shy by nature rather than extrovert, someone who feels that your actions should speak for themselves, but that's not the way politics works these days. Show less «

I am a friend of the military.

Cowell (Simon Cowell) accused me of wavering in my support for The X Factor (2004), but I haven't. I'm an X Factor fan, and Peter Mandelson looks after Strictly Come Dancing (2004). Show less «

It is important that we have a strong motorcycling industry in this country. (speaking in the House of Commons on 25th February 2010.)

[slip of the tongue during PMQs] The first point of recapitalisation was to save banks that would otherwise have collapsed. And we not only saved the world, er, saved the banks... Show less «