Patience is a virtue; virtue is a grace.

In the U.S., free speech and the press are protected by the First Amendment. It has a clarity unmatched by modern legislators and declares that 'Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or the press.'

A constitutional monarchy requires the monarch to be above politics but to be fully informed about politics.

When Margaret Thatcher was leader, she and Michael Heseltine were hardly soulmates, but she would not have allowed personal rivalry to take the heat off the Labour Party, whose own deep internal divisions are buried in other news now, nor would she have countenanced any attempt to have a show trial.

You've got to judge people, ultimately, by their actions rather than their words.

I would almost certainly vote for Trump if I was American.

Lobbying has become a term of reproach, as if it were improper to push for a particular belief. This has happened because of paid lobbyists whose opinions are for hire and the fear that decision-makers, whether politicians or officials, are susceptible to their charms and wiles. This has tarred entirely proper lobbying with the same brush.

Free Trade puts consumers at the centre of economic activity. It lowers the cost of imports, which gives people the opportunity to buy more with the same amount of money: domestic producers have to compete with the lowest global costs or invest in new business.

I've made no pretence to be a modern man at all, ever.

If people ignore the rules already, new regulations are not likely to deter them.

I very much like potatoes.

Sometimes 'sin' taxes are useful not because of their perceived health benefits but because they are effectively a form of voluntary taxation which tends to arouse less irritation than other taxes.

Zero-hours contracts are a low proportion of the workforce; they provide a route into employment and flexibility for staff. They benefit business, consumers, and taxpayers by keeping costs down, and they boost productivity, allowing the efficient use of labour.

The BBC always wants to blame things on Brexit. I'm not saying this is a conspiracy: I'm saying it is a fact of life.

Eschatological fears are an ancient human concern. The Romans expected the world to end in 634 B.C. owing to a prophecy involving twelve eagles, while the early Christians anticipated the Final Judgment in their own lifetimes. Pope Sylvester II thought A.D. 1000 would be the last year, a view updated for the modern age by the Millennium bug.

Mark Carney is one of the enemies of Brexit. He has opposed it consistently.

Subsidising inefficient businesses does not encourage them to become more competitive and means that extra money has to be taken from tax payers for the same result. Inevitably, this reduces the total size of the economy and lowers living standards.

No one questions the right of individuals to go to the Central Lobby to explain their views to their own Member of Parliament. It is important for those in power to hear arguments in favour of policies from all sides and ought to lead to better decision-making.

Perhaps one day the world will end, giving the last group to predict it the satisfaction of being right - but as many have been wrong so far, it does not seem wise to make public policy on the back of these fears.

I'm of the opinion that one of the perks of being in Parliament is not having to do the school run.

In England and, later, the United Kingdom, Habeas Corpus is a right of great antiquity: Anyone who is arrested must be brought before a court, but this does not apply in continental countries.

Tony Blair adopted the accent of the audience he was speaking to, which worked very well initially, but then voters began to perceive him as phoney. The 'man of the people' act is the height of condescension.

Obstacles to trade put up the cost both to consumers and businesses.

I'm not a moderniser. I accept that things like escalators do need an upgrade every now and then, but I think the fundamental principles of Conservatism have a long thread running through them that does not need to be modernised.

I believe that politicians should implement the promises that they've given in manifestos.

In an age of considerable bureaucratic burdens, a business knowing immediately that someone who has the relevant training is eligible to work in the United Kingdom is an important convenience and helps keep costs down.

I'm not interested in the past, I'm interested in the future. Europe is past.

I have never been to IKEA, no.

A decision by the government to arm the rebels in Syria ought to be taken as carefully as one to commit British troops. It is akin to war, albeit by proxy, and must be treated with equal seriousness and meet the tests for a just war.

I think that conservative principles have a broad appeal, and you should state them boldly, and the point of a Conservative election is to do conservative things, not to do Labour things but slightly less damaging.

We must be out of the protectionist common external tariff, which mainly protects inefficient E.U. industries at the cost to British consumers.

It is obviously sensible the crossing of a border ought not to protect a criminal from the consequences of his crime.

Marriage is a sacrament, and the decision of what is a sacrament lies with the Church, not with Parliament.

Zero-hours contracts offer an entry point for people who are either new to the workforce or have commitments that make it hard to work full-time.

The E.U. is a backward-looking project based on an economic model of the 20th century.

If we want to change a law, we can do that in Parliament. That is a democratic right that has often been taken from the E.U.

My personal opinion is that life begins at the point of conception, and abortion is morally indefensible.

I've never put all my eggs in one basket, and I've always been cautious.

I like some vegetables.

We need to be free to do deals with the rest of the world.

A poor worker is taxed heavily to receive his own money back with a modest supplement. Surely it would be more efficient just to pay the supplement and take him out of direct tax altogether.

I think, with a negotiation, you have to go in knowing what you want, knowing what your bottom line is, and knowing what you might accept if you're absolutely pushed.

Supermarkets have contributed as much to increasing the standard of living in the United Kingdom as almost any government policy. They bring a level of convenience and quality that was unknown to previous generations at a highly competitive price because of their buying power.

I would always vote for Tory candidates in the United Kingdom, and I would probably be Republican if I was an American.

Unsalted butter is a sin against the Holy Ghost.

Not everyone will always agree with me.

A power of recall that depended solely on the electorate and was not subject to unnecessary hurdles of Parliamentary procedures would show trust in the good sense and fairness of the British people. In return, they might trust Parliamentarians a little more.

Fundamental protections, the assumption of innocence, trial by jury, and the right to appear before a court have all been sacrificed on the altar of the E.U. superstate.

Meeting someone does not mean you're endorsing them.

Governments want to control information. To do this, they have elaborate systems for promoting themselves via propaganda departments and for ensuring confidentiality with official-secrets laws. There are good reasons for these: people need information, and national security deserves secrecy.