George Osborne

“If we don't get a grip on government spending, there will be no growth.”

“We have accepted there is a big role for government to create a framework where businesses can grow in all parts of the country.”

“Tony Blair was a good politician but not a good Prime Minister, and that's what we don't want to be. We don't want to be just people who are good at winning elections: we want to be good at governing. I think we benefit from having seen the mistakes that we think Tony Blair made in 1997.”

“Well can I just say unlike my predecessors, Conservative and Labour, I have set up an independent body that studies whether what I'm saying is true, whether I've met the targets that I set out.”

“I understand the damage the expenses crisis has done to Parliament, and the paramount importance of restoring trust in our politics.”

“I'm a very happy, content member of David Cameron's team. I fought very hard to get my friend elected as leader of the Conservative party, then elected as the prime minister of this country, and I'm very happy being part of that team that is bringing change to this country.”

“I would say I have taken substantive action to make things easier for people.”

“Of all the public services, education is the one I'm most interested in. You get a more dynamic economy, you deal with most social problems, and it's morally right.”

“Even as China's growth slows, it will continue to be a powerhouse for the global economy.”

“The Conservative Party mustn't sound like the old man on the park bench who says things were better in 1985, or 1955, or 1855.”

“The police protect us, and we're going to protect the police.”

“I think people who sit around and are always yearning for the next thing are not always the happiest people.”

“The former pension minister, the Liberal Democrat Steve Webb said I was trying to abolish the lump sum. Instead, we are going to keep the lump sum and abolish the Liberal Democrats.”

“There are always ways to make government better, always ways to make sure that the taxes of people are better spent.”

“I think you can look at the British economy with confidence.”

“We must bring unity of spirit and purpose and condemn hatred and division wherever we see it.”

“It's perfectly reasonable in a coalition between two political parties that you get supporters of those parties you know stressing the things they want to stress.”

“We need to think deeply about whether we can sustain banks that are not only too big to fail, but potentially too big to bail.”

“Britain has no divine right to be one of the richest countries in the world.”

“Britain is an open and tolerant country, and I will fight with everything I have to keep it so.”