Charles Kennedy Quotations

I should do something about the cigarettes; I quite accept that it's bad for your health, but you know a moderate tipple is positively beneficial and, at certain times, absolutely essential.

We should have high expectations of our children, but politicians should not tell teachers how to meet them.

Politics is much too serious to be taken too seriously; equally, there are many aspects of it so laughable as to be lamentable.

Democracy demands trust. It demands that sense of mutual understanding. And - it's a two way street. You've got to give - as much as you take.

The way to defeat international terrorism is through international cooperation based on international law, clear intelligence, and a measured and appropriate military response.

Speaking to numerous teachers and nurses, I am consistently struck by the sense of mission they have about their work.

There are hard choices to be made in balancing the country's security and an individual's liberties. But it is a choice that has to be faced.

I will go out of this world feet first with my Lib Dem membership card in my pocket.

The one thing we can all be sure about in politics is you are as well to expect the unexpected.

This country has a proud history of opening its doors to generations of people fleeing personal persecution, civil unrest and war.

I don't actually subscribe to the view that all power corrupts. But absolute power - when secured on the back of massive parliamentary majorities, which don't reflect the balance of political opinion in the country - can corrupt absolutely.

Quality of life actually begins at home - it's in your street, around your community.

Valuing public servants would boost morale among those on the front line of implementing government policy.

The growing influence of focus groups means we are all in danger of being excessively cowed by their feedback.

The most special relationships, in my experience, are based on a combination of trust and mutual respect.

Of all the principles which constitute Liberal Democracy, internationalism is the clearest, the most distinctive, and the one with the longest history.

I believe that access to a university education should be based on the ability to learn, not what people can afford. I think there is no more nauseating a sight than politicians pulling up the ladder of opportunity behind them.

I'm not someone who dwells upon past events, taking the view that life is too short

Three simple words - freedom, justice and honesty. These sum up what the Liberal Democrats stand for.

To be seen to be human, provided you're doing your job at the same time, is definitely not a negative, not at all.

I'm a fully paid-up member of the human race.

If you were to describe me as teetotal, on behalf of my constituency I'd have to sue; that would lose me every vote in the Highlands.

Actually, I think it's quite sensible not to take yourself too seriously.

I can hardly think of an occasion when I've got into a stand-up fight with any political opponent. I've got my views, people know what they are, they can agree or they can choose to disagree. I'm not going to waste time just rubbishing everybody else.

Music and politics are in essence about communication. Without over-stretching the analogy I do feel a sense of rhythm is important in getting your message across.

Only the Liberal Democrats have probed the government's failings consistently, thoroughly and effectively.

Let no-one be in any doubt - the Liberal Democrats are not about to cede our emphatic, sincere and long-standing green credentials for some spray on aerosol version.

Some ministers are fond of talking about a return to Victorian values. We must realise that those Victorian values are being expressed by some of the younger people in this society in shameful and disturbing disregard for other members of their generation who are not as fortunate as they are in having a job.

Politics means facing up to hard choices and facing down prejudice, short-termism, the easy, tempting court of knee-jerk public reaction.

Political parties need to look at the different kinds of support that people may need, suited to their way of life, and provide cost-effective solutions.

No government body is more notorious for over-legislation than the Department of Trade and Industry.

New Labour needs to realise that family life and the way we raise our children are private matters.

Liberal Democracy is all about extending choice. Give people the option to decide their retirement age, and you immediately extend their freedom in a very significant way.

Liberals have been committed to the principles of human rights, international stability, and international justice. They have also sought international solutions to those problems which have demanded collective attention.

Many people want to scale back their working hours as they near the end of their careers, but not necessarily to give up work altogether.

Courage is a peculiar kind of fear.

Immigrants provide skills that we simply cannot afford to do without. They have contributed hugely to Britain's success.

Paddy Ashdown is the only party leader who's a trained killer. Although, to be fair, Mrs Thatcher was self taught.

To run an effective political party you need a degree of tribalism, it's the glue that holds everyone together.

I want to see far more decisions taken far closer to the patients, the passengers and the pupils. Far more power for locally and regionally elected politicians who understand best the needs of their areas. And far more say too for the dedicated staff at all levels in health and education.

Further Education should be about the ability to learn, not the ability to pay - everyone who is able should have the opportunity, regardless of their family background. I don't want to see students struggling with huge debts or frightened off even going to university in the first place.

My health is good and it's up to me to keep it that way.

You mustn't confuse the need for effective chairmanship, which is part of the job of the boss, along with the ability to take tough decisions and to lead people.

Politicians are good at saying how Government must do more, but we must also think carefully about where Government should do less.

I'm a lifelong believer in trade unionism.

You won't catch Liberal Democrats describing trade unionists as wreckers.

I am genuinely not an over-the-top kind of person about politics or anything else.

There is no satisfaction to be derived from having had many of our arguments borne out by events.

I don't want a headline saying 'Kennedy suggests this or implies that.'

It is true that I entered parliament at the age of 23, and have now been representing the people of my constituency for over twenty years.

For any new leader of any party at any given time it takes time if you are not in government to establish yourself.

Befriending provides a valuable lifeline to many people who feel isolated in their communities often as a result of ill health or poverty. I would like to thank all those who volunteer as befrienders and I hope that your numbers will increase in coming years. Your kindness and hard work is, I know, very much appreciated by those you help.

We Liberal Democrats believe in dialogue. We believe in cooperation with both sides of industry and between both sides of industry. And we believe in the language of cooperation. We reject the language of confrontation.

There stands no contradiction between giving voice to legitimate anxiety and at the same time, as and when exchange of fire commences, looking to the rest of the country, as well as all of us in the House, to give full moral support to our forces.

I think that former leaders are best seen occasionally and not too often heard - particularly on the subject of their successors!

I do think there is a great deal of caricature around the House of Commons. It is just that kind of place.

My idealism has not abated, but I have witnessed it withering away nationwide, to the point where at least among the young, to have ideals is akin to being blinkered and oldfashioned.

The quicker we get rid of the lobby system the better for all of us. I don't think in this day and age it is tenable to have these nods and winks, and on-the-record and off-the-record briefings.

Yes, you need substance in politics - but I think your style also says something about how you arrive at some of your conclusions.

The events of the Holocaust viewed through the eyes of Anne Frank are a unique and damming testament to the dreadful atrocities of that period of our history

My favourite novel is Frederick Forsythe's Day Of The Jackal, the story about the unproven case of this apparent Englishman who was hired to assassinate De Gaulle….

My approach is always to try to be straight with people, especially about what my party can achieve.

I couldn't imagine a day without music. It relaxes and stimulates me in equal measure and I hate the sound of silence - the concept, I mean, not the track by Simon and Garfunkel.

I have never once been persuaded as to the causal link between the Iraqi regime, al-Qaeda and September 11. I do believe the impact of war under these circumstances is bound to weaken the international coalition against terrorism itself ...

I did not dwell on the issue of Europe during either the 2001 or the 2005 campaigns - despite it being a pivotal personal concern and despite seeing it as something of a litmus test for liberal democracy.

Further Education should be about the ability to learn, not the ability to pay - everyone who is able should have the opportunity, regardless of their family background. I don't want to see students struggling with huge debts or frightened off even going to university in the first place.

If British troops are committed to action, then the nation will, of course, support them. Their courage and skill is not in doubt.

I happen to consider myself a Highlander even before a Scot; I am proud to be British yet feel comfortable as a European citizen.

I believe when the country feels threatened it is important that we are seen to be working together to find an appropriate structure for dealing with terrorists in our midst.

I believe that our country is a richer, more vibrant society precisely because it is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic society.

Cast your vote to restore Britain's reputation on the international stage. Vote Liberal Democrat if, like us, you say never again to an episode like Iraq.

I have always considered myself of the reforming centre-left.

When human rights are systematically abused, it raises the question whether it may be legitimate in some circumstances for the international community to intervene within individual states as well as in conflicts between states.

I am going to be addressing people's hopes, not playing on people's fears.

History will certainly judge Tony Blair on Iraq, but first the British people will judge him on Thursday, ... Blair's judgment on the Iraq war was fatally flawed.

I find no contradiction between being a Highlander, a Scot, a citizen of the U.K. and a citizen of the European Union at one and the same time.

Whatever the eventual judgment, the political implications of Hutton are already clear. A devastating indictment of Labour in power - and of our political system itself.

Terror can never be defeated by force alone.

Terrorism gravely threatens international peace and security, and as a solution, the power and apparent finality of force are seductive.

Labour politicians for generations have fought to bring democracy to the House of Lords.

Like John Major in her wake, Thatcher was convinced that she understood the Scots - yet couldn't understand why we remained so stubbornly resistant towards the notion of understanding her.

Look, I have already said I am not going to put any artificial limits on our ambitions this time around

I will be joining the campaign with a song in my heart, with a spring in my step

I think that former leaders are best seen occasionally and not too often heard - particularly on the subject of their successors!

I think we should use the opportunity to leave the president in no doubt as to the extent of public concern, not just in our country, but in Europe generally about the way in which events, tragically, have unfolded,

Just as we Liberal Democrats opposed the flawed logic of that war in Iraq - we will oppose the flawed government claim that we have to surrender our fundamental rights in order to improve our security.

It is my determination that we, as a party, continue to make that fundamental restatement of liberal values in the politics of our country.

Over the course of the last parliament, as a party, we have been the real opposition over the big issues of the day ... and the Conservatives over that period have themselves flip-flopped on so many of those matters,

Over the past 18 months I've been coming to terms with and seeking to cope with a drinking problem, and I've come to learn through that process that a drink problem is a serious problem indeed.

It has been a fantastic victory. We have shown we are the party of the future. This decade can see us as part of the governments of our country.

I think we owe it really to those forces, and to their families back home, to make quite clear what the position is and to reassure people by making quite clear that the government and parliament are thinking in terms of a safe homeward strategy for the forces.

I think you've got to like people. There are MPs who are either painfully shy or who don't like public speaking or don't socialise very well, and you just think this must be the worst job in the world for them.

We need a liberal agenda in which government resists the temptation to interfere in the lives of individuals but is equally determined to play an active role where creative action can advance the liberties of all.

We'll need to revise the tired assumption that people automatically become more conservative as they grow older.

We need less theoretical debate and more practical application and acknowledgment of what Europe can and does do so that it is brought home to people in a relevant way.

When it comes to our public services, decentralisation means giving power back to those on the front line - our doctors, nurses, teachers and physiotherapists, and our locally elected officials.

We must restore faith in politics. Reform of the House of Lords is only one part of the answer, but it is a vital one.

We have a Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales, both elected by fairer votes - involving proportional representation.

We are no longer a nation of one church; we are a nation of many churches.

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