Grant Shapps

“We know that solving homelessness has to be about more than simply introducing a new raft of government initiatives, task forces and top-down solutions.”

“I believe that overall if you want a growing economy what you have got to have is sufficient flexibility to allow that to happen.”

“By scrapping the government's centrally dictated density targets we'll ensure that the right type of new homes are built where they're needed, ending the glut of one- and two-bedroom flats.”

“I absolutely believe that we're the workers' party. We are the party that has always been at the forefront of the big social changes that have promoted women and working people.”

“I want to reignite the idea of community with a positive conservatism in which the word 'development' has a new connotation, kind of like a social revolution.”

“Conservatives don't love business for some abstract reason. We love it because of what it offers our children. Hope.”

“Business can be hard. But we need more of it.”

“We may forget it, among the glitz of the Christmas lights, but capitalism can be a profoundly moral force.”

“I don't see any reason why society can't function well when people come together in the common interest under our system. In fact that's what the Big Society is all about!”

“One of my priorities is getting the trains to run on time, and as a commuter myself I understand all too well the frustration caused by endless delays and cancellations.”

“Look at the growing middle class in India. Small businesses are not just a source of jobs and prosperity: they are the driving force of social justice too.”

“None of us want to live in a society where people are forced to sleep in shop doorways, on park benches or in dangerous, run-down buildings.”

“An astonishing disengagement from reality is necessary to actually believe there is something sinister about protecting people's homes from invasion through squatting.”

“There should be a way of saying to people 'thank you very much, it has not worked out but here is a good decent package for you to move on from this role and we will support you to move on into other jobs, so it is not a hire and fire thing'; and those are the sorts of changes that Conservatives would like to see.”

“My great hope for my speck of time on this planet would be that I live and die, and that what I leave behind has made some kind of impression and has been for the better in terms of my family and friends and, in my case, public service.”

“The reality is that it would be wiser and even kinder for politicians to be responsible about what they claim the NHS will do, because the pain of having raised expectations for parents who are desperate to start a family, only to see those hopes crushed, is more cruel than having said nothing at all.”

“Of course homelessness has many causes and the solutions are often frustratingly complex.”

“My wife and I set up the business, we were always very open about it and had a business author's name as many authors do.”

“Before I went into parliament I used to write business publications, and like many authors wrote under a business name.”

“Our reasons for criminalising squatting are crystal clear - we want to protect the rights of regular hard-working homeowners against the damage squatters can inflict on their homes, and the distress this causes in their lives.”