David Blunkett

I can hear people smile.

— David Blunkett

I should have been a Trappist monk.

— David Blunkett

I've had a guide dog since 1969. Not the same one, of course: I've had five.

— David Blunkett

Human nature is you get carried away, so we have to protect ourselves from ourselves.

— David Blunkett

That is why with enormous regret I have tendered my resignation to the prime minister today.

— David Blunkett

None of us believe countering terrorism is about party politics

— David Blunkett

I have built my reputation on honesty, I have sometimes been too honest.

— David Blunkett

It's not just parliament that requires radical modernisation. It's our democratic processes.

— David Blunkett

Throughout my political life, I've not been a stranger to controversy.

— David Blunkett

But any perception of this application being speeded up requires me to take responsibility.

— David Blunkett

Politics is about the participation and engagement of the wider citizenry - to miss that point would doom us to irrelevance.

— David Blunkett

Strengthening our identity is one way of reinforcing people's confidence and sense of citizenship and well-being.

— David Blunkett

I am not a parliamentarian. I am a politician. Some MPs leave and are itching to get back. I don't feel that.…

— David Blunkett

I am nothing if not a loyalist. After 46 years in the Labour party, I've grown weary of the cry: 'If only…

— David Blunkett

I don't like prolonged, highly expensive commissions, especially if they are chaired by judges. We seem to have overwhelming faith in judges.

— David Blunkett

In an ageing society, it makes sense to support older adults to develop new skills, prolonging their working lives.

— David Blunkett

The government must give men and women without power a real say over what happens to them, and the means of engaging…

— David Blunkett

Simple numbers of people of a particular age tell us nothing about the condition of their health, the environment in which they…

— David Blunkett

We need to build on what we know works - local oversight of schools to keep a check on performance, timely interventions…

— David Blunkett

Yes, it will go through the disciplines that all puppies go through including house training and puppy walking, then at twelve month…

— David Blunkett

I believe Britishness is defined not on ethnic and exclusive grounds but through shared values; our history of tolerance, openness and internationalism;…

— David Blunkett

Let's not allow the voice of the people to be overwhelmed by the siren song of those who opposed regulation, who demanded…

— David Blunkett

We must draw on our early roots and remind people why the Labour party was created and who it sought to represent.…

— David Blunkett

I said it's impossible to have an amnesty without ID cards and a clean database, because you firstly don't have any incentives…

— David Blunkett

Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, in hosting the G20 summit and in the budget, must display the same boldness in tackling the…

— David Blunkett

Judy, we think that since the 11th of September, 2001, we've faced a similar heightened threat level. And we've been enhancing both…

— David Blunkett

I'm as keen as the next person to preserve the right to free speech.

— David Blunkett

I have made mistakes in the past, but when I have, I have always said so.

— David Blunkett

I believe whoever the Labour Party chooses to replace Tony Blair will beat David Cameron.

— David Blunkett

Privacy is a right, but as in any democratic society, it is not an absolute right.

— David Blunkett

I have always been honest about my recollection of events.

— David Blunkett

I personally guarantee that now that bear wouldn't get past Dover without being shot.

— David Blunkett

The government wants to be able to attack extremism and hatred wherever it occurs.

— David Blunkett

I don't think anyone can say I have said one thing in public and done another in private.

— David Blunkett

It is a mistake to separate learning for work and for community and personal development.

— David Blunkett

I must have been a failed football coach in a previous incarnation.

— David Blunkett

Faith in technocrats over politicians is not a trend from which Britain is exempt.

— David Blunkett

Parents don't believe that lifting life-chances in one school means reducing them in another.

— David Blunkett

Being home secretary involves having to face some of the worst of human behaviour and challenges of modern society.

— David Blunkett

It is now in Gordon Brown's - and the Labour party's - best interests for those seeking the prime minister's immediate departure…

— David Blunkett