A biography for Sam Gyimahhasn’t been written yet.
“As a black member of parliament and minister for nearly a decade, I was determined not to be defined by my race. I didn't want to be 'the black politician', when being black is just a part of who I am.”
“It's a bit bold to go around saying, 'Prime Minister, if there's an opportunity I really want to be in this department,' but that's what I did.”
“The UKRI visa program, it's going to make it easier for researchers to come to the U.K. and do their work.”
“Everyone who's rational should have an interest in science. The future of our planet depends on our understanding of science... It's something I value immensely.”
“The more painful incidents of racism I chose to forget, to suffer in silence, or use humour to deflect rather than confront. I didn't want to be the angry black man.”
“The Tory Party only talks to Brexiteers. It almost demonises... It comes across as dismissive of those who are not.”
“At the Oxford Union I'd never debated before but I gave it a go.”
“My job is to help parents give their children the best start in life.”
“As a child, my mother would read to me late into the night. I didn't enjoy it at the time but she always used to say that the inheritance she was going to leave us was a good education.”
“I am instinctively wary of identity politics. Ultimately, no two black men are the same, any more than two white men are the same.”
“I want to ensure we have more nurseries in schools, and that they open in time for parents to get to work.”
“Parliament is a tribal place. So the most difficult thing is to be labelled disloyal, even if you think you are standing up for a principle. The rejection is quite strong.”
“The issue for me is not just Brexit. It is beyond Brexit - how you conduct politics and the veering towards populism and English nationalism.”
“Universities have a big role to play... making it very clear to their counterparts, their networks, that the U.K. is not walking away from the world. We still value multilateral cooperation, we still see the EU as a significant partner.”
“I voted to remain because I thought it was costly and complicated to leave the EU, and that is clearly still the case. But there are opportunities and challenges.”
“Nothing of substance is being achieved or even proposed, while the country remains trapped in the Kafka-esque misery that Brexit has become.”
“Brexit is an immensely complex national challenge encompassing issues from sovereignty and trade to security in an increasingly interdependent world.”
“Much of what we buy relies on products from the EU - purchases that British importers make in euros.”
“Ever since Theresa May's premiership, I have become suspicious of the 'lectern moment'. That is when the prime minister steps outside Downing Street to address the nation on Brexit.”
“Parliament is relentless, it never stops.”