Top 209 Quotes & Sayings by David Cameron - Page 3

We all say in our own lives that money isn't everything. Love matters, friendships matter. My relationship with my kids matters. It shouldn't be a giant leap to take that thought and introduce it into political dialogue

The EU must be able to act with the speed and flexibility of a network, not the cumbersome rigidity of a bloc.

Government has the power to help improve well-being

There are some people who seem to think that the way you reduce the cost of living in this country is for the state to spend more and more taxpayers' money. It is as if somehow you measure the compassion of the government by the amount of other people's money it can spend.

The last thing I'd say is that you can achieve a lot of things in politics. You can get a lot of things done. And that, in the end - the public service, the national interest: that is what it's all about. Nothing is really impossible if you put your mind to it. After all, as I once said: I was the future once.

When people's love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change.

I know that the United Kingdom is sometimes seen as an argumentative and rather strong-minded member of the family of European nations. And it's true that our geography has shaped our psychology. We have the character of an island nation - independent, forthright, passionate in defence of our sovereignty.

Complex rules restricting our labour markets are not some naturally occurring phenomenon. Just as excessive regulation is not some external plague that's been visited on our businesses.

It does make a broader point which is the fight against Islamist terror is not just one that we can wage by the police and border control. It needs every school, every university, every college, every community to recognize they have a role to play, we all have a role to play in stopping people from having their minds poisoned by this appalling death cult.

Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.

My question right now would be to Colonel Gaddafi, which is: 'What on earth do you think you are doing? Stop it.'

We need to have a bigger and more significant role for national parliaments. There is not, in my view, a single European demos.

Look at me and think of Schwarzenegger.

I am Conservative to the core of my being, as those who know me best will testify.

We must consider teaching the Egyptian revolution in schools.

Some members, like Britain and France, are ready, willing and able to take action in Libya or Mali. Others are uncomfortable with the use of military force. Let's welcome that diversity, instead of trying to snuff it out.

Billions raised, billions spent. No idea where the money has gone. With a record like that the chancellor should be running for treasurer of the Labour Party.

In the past we used to think of poverty in absolute terms - meaning straightforward material deprivation... We need to think of poverty in relative terms - the fact that some people lack those things which others in society take for granted.

Over the longer term, the institutions and powers of the EU will continue to expand and certain policymaking powers, heretofore vested in the member states, will be delegated or transferred to, or pooled and shared with EU institutions. As a result, the sovereignty of the member states will increasingly be eroded.

Normally when people say they haven't decided, they're being polite but they're definitely not voting for you. I think it's different this time. People are thinking hard about the issues.

It would be wrong to suggest that Scotland could not be another such successful, independent country.

The biggest danger to the European Union comes not from those who advocate change, but from those who denounce new thinking as heresy. In its long history, Europe has experience [with] heretics who turned out to have a point.

The prime minister says he has a vision for change, well put that to the people of the country.

In a race for limited resources, it is the energy efficient that will win the race

Countries are different. They make different choices. We cannot harmonise everything. For example, it is neither right nor necessary to claim that the integrity of the single market, or full membership of the European Union requires the working hours of British hospital doctors to be set in Brussels irrespective of the views of British parliamentarians and practitioners.

Press freedom does not mean that the press should be above the law. While it's vital that a free press can tell truth to power, it is equally important that those in power can tell truth to the press.

We cannot go on as we are with 2.6 million people on incapacity benefit, 500,000 of them are under 35. Are we really saying there are half a million people in this country under 35 who are simply too ill to work? I don’t think that’s right.

We have put our country on solid ground, but let me tell you: The next five years are much, much more important. The next five years are about turning the good news in our economy into a good life for you and your family.

Britain is characterised not just by its independence but, above all, by its openness. We have always been a country that reaches out. That turns its face to the world.

Everyone knows that I'm all in favour of apprenticeships, but let me tell you this is no time for a novice.

You can be walking down the street for a chat, but until you've got the selfie out of the way, people aren't ready to talk.

NCS - National Citizen Service is a fantastic programme. I want it to be available for every young person in the country.

We can't afford to waste time going slow on changing our party so now is not the time to put our foot on the brake. Now is the time to press on the accelerator.

I think the prospect of bringing back grammar schools has always been wrong and I've never supported it. And I don't think any Conservative government would have done it.

Too many people are stuck on sickness benefits because of issues that could be addressed but instead are not, some have drug or alcohol problems, but refuse treatment. In other cases, people have problems with their weight that could be addressed, but instead a life on benefits rather than work becomes the choice.

No treaty should be ratified without consulting the British people in a referendum.

It's not just other countries in Europe having a say over what we do. It's unelected bureaucrats in Brussels on sort of six-figure, huge salaries telling us how we run our country despite having never stood for an election themselves.

We will reflect the country we aspire to govern, and the sound of modern Britain's is a complex harmony, not a male voice choir.

It’s probably the most unpopular policy I’m responsible for. I know it is very unpopular, culling badgers. But I believe it is the right thing to do. You have to make choices as a politician. Sometimes it means doing something you know people don’t like.

I want the European Union to be a success. And I want a relationship between Britain and the EU that keeps us in it.

I'll be explaining that Britain will be leaving the European Union, but I want that process to be as constructive as possible. And I hope the outcome can be as constructive as possible because of course while we're leaving the European Union, we mustn't be turning our backs on Europe.

You've taxed too much, borrowed too much and are a roadblock to reform.

I want to talk about the internet, the impact it’s having on the innocence of our children, how online pornography is corroding childhood and how, in the darkest corners of the internet, there are things going on that are a direct danger to our children and that must be stamped out.

I want to be the voice of change and hope. I want to confront the big challenges this country faces.

People are crying out for a Conservative Party that is decent, reasonable, common sense and in it for the long term of this country.

Cap the well, yes, clear up the mess, yes, make compensation, yes absolutely. But would it be right to have legislation that independently targets BP rather than other companies? I don't think that would be right.

What we’re putting forward is the most radical reform of the welfare state… for 60 years. I think it will have a transformative effect in making sure that everyone is better off in work and better off working rather than on benefits.

Now I know which came first - the chicken not the egg.

An EU without Britain, without 1 of Europe's strongest powers, a country which in many ways invented the single market, and which brings real heft to Europe's influence on the world stage which plays by the rules and which is a force for liberal economic reform would be a very different kind of European Union.

I've always said, not giving too much away, I'm a believer in having all your stars on the pitch.

I believe man-made climate change is one of the most serious threats that this country and this world face.

Because I'm a democrat! The will of the people is sovereign.

At the core of the European Union must be, as it is now, the single market. Britain is at the heart of that Single Market, and must remain so.

We're all agreed that climate change is one of the greatest and most daunting challenges of our age. We have a moral imperative to act and act now.

Fundamental questions are being asked about the future of the Eurozone and therefore the shape of the EU itself. Opportunities to advance our national interest are clearly becoming apparent. We should focus on how to make the most of this, not pursue a parliamentary process for a multiple choice referendum.

It's time to place the market within a moral framework - even if that means standing up to companies who make life harder for parents and families.

I think it was right to remove Saddam Hussein. I think it was the right decision then and I still think it was right now.

Today the main, over-riding purpose of the European Union is different: not to win peace, but to secure prosperity.

I am just not a great fan of the Piers Morgan format. I would rather do something a bit more substantial.

The well of public opinion has been well and truly poisoned by the Iraq episode.