Andrew Adonis

“England is so dominant within the U.K. that separate English and U.K. parliaments and governments are a recipe for weakness and instability.”

“I was warned by the private sector that we would fail and would fail badly. 'The state can't run a railway,' I was told. Well, they were wrong.”

“Austerity and Brexit are two sides of the same coin, like the Brexit party and the Tories.”

“In Germany, apprentices undergo a final examination in the vocational school and an oral examination and practical test in the workplace. The same should happen in Britain.”

“I'm prepared to argue with some of my Labour colleagues about doing what it takes to see that every school has the governance needed to succeed.”

“The reason why I'm so passionate about turning around failing schools is that children who have the misfortune to go to unsucccessful institutions are far less likely to come across the individuals who can transform their lives.”

“Virtually no other state concentrates as much political, economic and cultural power in its capital city. Even Paris is less economically dominant than London and its hinterland.”

“London's night economy is huge and it couldn't function without London's night buses.”

“I don't answer deeply hypothetical questions.”

“Having achieved something so special as peace, it is criminal to throw it away on a whim.”

“Our European neighbours in France have invested in their infrastructure early and are now reaping the rewards later. This is because wherever high-speed rail has been built between the major cities and economic centres of a country - as in HS2 - it has exceeded demand forecasts.”

“Labour is the party of the NHS and the environment and fighting for better workplace and civic rights for working men and women.”

“Labour should have fought with every sinew in 2010 to retain power. To give up power voluntarily because you are tired of government and it is all too difficult is a betrayal of the people you serve.”

“The people should make the final decision on Brexit when they see the government's Brexit deal.”

“Opening up closed markets to competition and protecting consumers from monopoly-style profits is the essence of pro-business politics on the modernising right as much as the left.”

“It is a vital British and European interest to demonstrate to Putin that Trump is on our side, not his.”

“I'm clear that new schools should only go in areas where there is a need for places. I'm equally clear that we need those schools to have the governance and the leadership to succeed.”

“Universities should be supporting Teach First, actively promoting it among their students and financially supporting them to join the scheme, using a small fraction of their income from higher fees for this purpose.”

“When a small number of companies control both the generation and the supply of energy, it's difficult for new players to enter the market.”

“I have been called many things in public life, but the cap that best fits is that of the centrist dad.”