A biography for Johann Lamonthasn’t been written yet.
“My working life has always been wrapped up in doing my job to the best of my abilities and doing the best for my family. It is not a contest between the two.”
“In my mind, the CalMac ferry is linked with the joy of arrival, the sadness of departure, the loss of loved ones brought home by ferry to rest in island soil. It is friendships made and a working life begun.”
“I got a very strong sense from my mother, in particular, that we are all equal in the sight of God.”
“The government don't want to talk about the consequences of the choices they make. They pretend there aren't any consequences.”
“We have a government that boasts about free education. Those of us who have scratched below the surface know it is costing us by denying opportunities for others to attend college or university.”
“Our politics is about people not flags.”
“Social injustice is what puts Scotland at its greatest disadvantage, and restoring the 50p tax rate will start to fight that.”
“I firmly believe that Scotland's place is in the U.K., and I do not believe in powers for power's sake.”
“I didn't particularly want to go to Westminster - not that there were many seats available or chances for women to get elected. In 1987, Labour sent down 50 MPs, and only one of them was a woman.”
“Progressive politics is not something to be bolted on to another cause.”
“We will renew our party, to rebuild our land - and we will do it by being a better Labour, real Labour, Scottish Labour.”
“There is a circus around politics. But if you think it is a game, then you forget what the purpose of politics actually is.”
“There is a danger of Scottish politics being between two sets of dinosaurs... the Nationalists who can't accept they were rejected by the people, and some colleagues at Westminster who think nothing has changed.”
“We need to find a way of having a conversation across the parties on how you fund local government.”
“That's a really healthy thing - family will always protect you from yourself.”
“Our task is a great one, not just because of how far we have fallen. Our task is a great one because of the challenges facing the people we seek to serve.”
“I love hard political debate and I love beating somebody on a political point but what I'm more frustrated by is the politics where you play the man not the politics.”
“My granny would come out and stay with us in the winter, and we would listen to the reports from the coastal stations and have a discussion in the middle of Glasgow about what the weather was like in Tiree.”
“Telling the truth, and confronting the challenge, is what politics is about.”
“If you don't accept there is a problem, then it is hard to debate things.”