A biography for David Blunketthasn’t been written yet.
“We must draw on our early roots and remind people why the Labour party was created and who it sought to represent. We have never been a sectional party promoting self-interest, but instead a force for engaging self-reliance and self-determination.”
“Where asylum is used as a route to economic migration, it can cause deep resentment in the host community.”
“In Sheffield, we need support from the community and for the community. We need integration with no loss of heritage, and a clear appreciation of what is and is not acceptable.”
“Solidarity and interdependence, a sense of worth, a pride and hope in the future: these are positive gains for those who believe in progressive politics and the beneficial role of government, rather than a detriment.”
“For six and a half years, I had responsibility for leading the Labour party policy on education and delivering on our promise of improved opportunities for all our children.”
“Human nature is you get carried away, so we have to protect ourselves from ourselves.”
“I have built my reputation on honesty, I have sometimes been too honest.”
“We have a media that presents every politician as being as bad as the next. There is no distinguishing between one good idea or another; no explanation of why constitutional change should be uppermost in the minds of the people I represent.”
“Simple numbers of people of a particular age tell us nothing about the condition of their health, the environment in which they live, and the support systems they can afford to pay for.”
“We need to build on what we know works - local oversight of schools to keep a check on performance, timely interventions in schools to support those at risk of failing, and partnerships between schools to help each one to improve.”
“I have made mistakes in the past, but when I have, I have always said so.”
“The government wants to be able to attack extremism and hatred wherever it occurs.”
“Without the political parties and the volunteering work of their members day in, day out, we would have a very different sort of politics and society.”
“In an ageing society, it makes sense to support older adults to develop new skills, prolonging their working lives.”
“The Home Office culture was one of being just above the problem, of hovering just out of reach of knowing what was going on on the ground, whether it was crime or immigration.”
“I don't think anyone can say I have said one thing in public and done another in private.”
“I'm in favour of a sensible development of response units and their deployment in any circumstance where there may be a risk to the officers themselves or the neighbourhood they're in. I'm not in favour of a blanket arming of the police.”
“I am nothing if not a loyalist. After 46 years in the Labour party, I've grown weary of the cry: 'If only we had a new, shining, revamped leader, all would be well.'”
“My integrity had been called into question; I was being called a liar, and I am not a liar. And I just think it is time that we stop viewing public figures as fair game.”
“There are some really good experiments with the youth offending service, joining up youth offending teams with the youth justice board, and good local authority and primary care trusts working together.”