Damian Green Quotes

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Damian Green

Profession : Politician

Birth : January 17, 1956

Under a Conservative government, teachers would be free to teach and parents free to choose - this will revolutionise our school system.

Damian Green

Conservatives believe in individual choice for all parents and pupils, regardless of social or economic background, and our Better School Passport would tackle these problems head on by encouraging innovation to create new schools on one hand, while giving real choice and diversity to parents on the other.

Damian Green

Too many of our children are being left behind, especially in our inner city schools.

Damian Green

It is common practice in many countries, such as U.S.A., Denmark and Holland, for different sections of society to set up their own schools, whether they are parents themselves, voluntary groups and charities, or private not-for-profit and for-profit companies.

Damian Green

Tony Blair in opposition recognised that as long as the economy remained a 'Tory issue,' which Labour could at best play down, Labour was going to lose. So he turned it into a genuine battleground. We need to do the same on the big so-called 'Labour issues.'

Damian Green

Abolishing university tuition fees and getting rid of unnecessary speed cameras are ideas that can be grasped instantly, and grab the attention of those for whom politics is a complete switch-off.

Damian Green

Just as strong Labour supporters in the 1980s could not come to terms with the fact that most people did not hate Mrs Thatcher, so many of my closest Conservative friends find it difficult to believe that the messages and style of the past don't work any longer.

Damian Green

The struggle to modernise the Labour party, which started under Neil Kinnock in the 80s, took more than a decade - and they were swimming in a largely friendly sea.

Damian Green

One of Enoch Powell's wiser remarks was that politicians complaining about the press were like sailors complaining about the sea. It is not the job of newspapers to win elections; it is the job of political parties.

Damian Green

Taking the left-right political spectrum, the public regards Tony Blair as being more or less dead centre and the Conservative party as way off to the right.

Damian Green

I find it obvious that, in a first-past-the-post electoral system, we need to head towards the centre.

Damian Green

If we dismiss childcare or work-life balance as soft, or Labour issues, then we dismiss the main concerns of millions of people, especially women. A party that behaves like this is doomed to remain the voice of a third of the population.

Damian Green

Our aim is that all those who come here to live will participate fully in British society and that British society will be confident enough to allow diversity (as it always has) without losing its central values.

Damian Green

The Conservative party, like many others, is constantly grappling with issues of community cohesion and how you can express your core values without becoming authoritarian and over-prescriptive.

Damian Green

The 'Britishness' debate too often descends into worthy flannel about common values and mutual respect. To give a hard edge to what it means to be British, you have to say what is un-British, and, if necessary, legislate to stop anyone committing un-British acts. Forced marriage falls squarely into this category.

Damian Green

There are certain practices that may be historically acceptable to some people but that have no place in our culture.

Damian Green

One of the most difficult decisions for any prime minister is when to give up on a bad but long-cherished policy.

Damian Green

At various stages, ID cards have been necessary to protect us from terrorism, illegal immigration, and benefit fraud. But former home secretaries, academics and senior figures in the IT industry have lined up to demolish each individual argument.

Damian Green

I have many times made public information that the government wanted to keep secret, information that the public has a right to know.

Damian Green

In a democracy, opposition politicians have a duty to hold the Government to account.

Damian Green