A Quote by Thomas Carlyle

That a Parliament, especially a Parliament with Newspaper Reporters firmly established in it, is an entity which by its very nature cannot do work, but can do talk only.

Thomas Carlyle

Quote Topics

Cannot Entity Established Firmly Nature Newspaper Newspaper Reporters Only Parliament Reporters Talk Very Which Work

Quote Author

Thomas Carlyle
Scottish - Philosopher
December 4, 1795 - February 5, 1881

No doubt, you've got a parliament now - I mean, Malcolm Turnbull says he'll work with the parliament he's got. He's got a parliament where a majority of the members of parliament want that law to be changed. He's got a parliament where there's a majority in each House who have publicly said they want to have a Royal Commission into banks.

Tony Burke

What happens when there is a conflict between the Scottish parliament, if it was established, and the Westminster parliament? Who is supreme?

John Major

There should be some other provisions in the Constitution whereby if the Government is not functioning well, it can be dealt with. In a parliamentary democracy, this should be done only by Parliament. The prime minister should be answerable only to Parliament and it should only be Parliament that can install him or remove him.

Nawaz Sharif

Not until he acquires European manners does the American anarchist become the gentleman who assures you that people cannot be mademoral by Act of Parliament (the truth being that it is only by Acts of Parliament that men in large communities can be made moral, even when they want to).

George Bernard Shaw

There is a tendency for the British establishment to work out everything very carefully and then present it to parliament as 'a take it or leave it' choice. And then ministers wonder why they have difficulties in parliament.

Crispin Blunt

Parliament's job is to conduct discussions. But many a time, Parliament is used to ignore issues, and in such situations, obstruction of Parliament is in the favour of democracy. Therefore, parliamentary obstruction is not undemocratic.

Arun Jaitley

Parliament is for discussion. Parliament is to show dissent. Parliament is to give an argument for one's opposition, to present an argument when they support. To uphold this basic spirit of Parliament, is the responsibility of every person who values democracy. It is the responsibility of those present in the Parliament and those outside. It is the responsibility of those in power and those not in power. This is a matter of spirit and it should be followed.

Narendra Modi

Democracy, finally, rests on a higher power than Parliament. It rests on an informed and cultivated and alert public opinion. The Members of Parliament are only representatives of the citizens. They cannot represent apathy and indifference. They can play the part allotted to them only if they represent intelligence and public spiritness.

Eric Williams

When we were told Brexit meant taking back powers for Parliament, no one told my constituents this meant the French parliament and the German parliament, not our own.

Jo Johnson

The only way out [of international dictatorship] is to place international law above governments, which means [...] that there must be a parliament for making it, and that parliament must be constituted by means of worldwide elections in which all nations will take part.

Albert Camus

When I first arrived at the Matignon, my desire was to reconcile Parliament and De Gaulle. I had forgotten only two things. Parliament and De Gaulle.

Georges Pompidou

The public treasure has been duly applied to the uses to which it was appropriated by Parliament, and regular accounts have been annually laid before Parliament, of every article of expense.

Robert Walpole

The power of discretionary disqualification by one law of Parliament, and the necessity of paying every debt of the Civil List by another law of Parliament, if suffered to pass unnoticed, must establish such a fund of rewards and terrors as will make Parliament the best appendage and support of arbitrary power that ever was invented by the wit of man.

Edmund Burke

One could establish a system in one state in which Judea and Samaria are jointly held. The Jews would vote for a Jewish parliament and the Palestinians for an Arab parliament, and we would create a system in which life is shared.

Reuven Rivlin

The public may want an elected opposition in Parliament, but we have to earn our place and work hard both in our Town Councils and in Parliament to retain the confidence and support of our people.