The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.

My view is that you still, in order to win from the Labour perspective, have to have a strong alliance with business as well as the unions. You have got to be very much in the centre ground on things like public sector reform.

I didn't come into politics to change the Labour Party. I came into politics to change the country.

My dad was a militant atheist, or is a militant atheist. My mum was sort of bought up in a religious family because she was a Protestant from Ireland but wasn't especially religious.

Education is the best economic policy there is.