David Lammy

“For even the most seasoned observers of American politics, Barack Obama is a phenomenon.”

“Prejudice is not just a personal sentiment - it can be institutional too.”

“I'm so bored of tribal politics. That's part of the problem. I'm so bored of it. I'm not a tribalist. That's not what turns me on.”

“I like the state of being self-aware, it's interesting when you start to look at your own habits.”

“The 1980s were tough for most of Britain, but nowhere more so than Tottenham.”

“Courts are too distant from the communities they put on trial.”

“A good life depends on the strength of our relationships with family, friends, neighbours, colleagues and strangers.”

“Mum was born in 1938 in Guyana and came to Britain at the end of the 60s. She settled in Tottenham, north London, and worked for London Transport and then as a home help, a care assistant and finally a local authority officer. Bringing up five children singlehandedly with little money can't have been easy, but she did it with tremendous style.”

“I remember singing as a chorister in Peterborough Cathedral, having won a music scholarship to go to school there, and realising for the first time in my life what true excellence was.”

“We cannot have different policing for different communities. It is inherently unfair.”

“My biggest fear growing up was that I would end up in prison. That was the fate of growing numbers of my peers.”

“Separate but equal is a fraud.”

“Reading international law at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London was a wonderful experience. With its incredibly diverse student population, I began to immerse myself in the ways social, legal and political forces contribute to human rights and freedoms.”

“I grew up under Thatcher; the era of apartheid; the era of the poll tax; the era of riots. I remember Neil Kinnock was a hero.”

“My father was a taxidermist, not a run-of-the-mill profession for a West Indian immigrant. Having given up on becoming a vet, he settled for working with dead animals rather than live ones. Dad was a true craftsman, an artist.”

“The great thing about running is that so often you wake up and you think: 'I really don't feel like this.' And even when you're up and out, that first kilometre is tough. But then once you get to 3km and you're getting to the end of the run, it's really fantastic.”

“Fathers need to be made aware of their responsibilities - and that's up to all of us to communicate, as parents, as politicians and as members of a community.”

“Universities are not like supermarkets: their job is to serve the country, not just the customers who happen to walk through their doors.”

“It is hard to speak the truth about valued national institutions. But when they are not fit for purpose, we must speak out.”

“A workplace culture where fathers are encouraged to take paternity leave would result in stronger families, a more equal labour market and a better economy.”