Quotes by John Hutton

“If we took Chaucers writings at face value, wed have to conclude he was a complete drip.”

“We need to be especially careful where proposed legislation would have an adverse impact on competitiveness, and todays action demonstrates the Commission is serious about putting its commitment to better regulation into practice.”

“We would greet him every day as he got off the elevator.”

“The internet has become an essential tool for businesses and consumers, and has brought enormous benefits to our everyday lives, but we all know there are risks too,”

“We will not put the long-term stability of the public finances at risk,”

“An active welfare state must provide a floor below which no one should be allowed to fall, but its primary role must be to enable people to provide for themselves.”

“The best thing for the individuals concerned, and for society as a whole, is to actively encourage those on incapacity benefit who are able to work to get back into work, while providing security and a decent standard of living to those who cannot.”

“In households where nobody goes to work, both money and self-esteem can be in short supply. This can mean a lack of positive role models and result in generation after generation getting stuck in the benefits trap.”

“I did not come into politics to make poor people poorer.”

“We want people of all ages from every section of the community to be involved.”

More than 50% of significant new regulations that impact on business in the UK now emanate from the EU.

For too long nurses have been undervalued, restricted in what they could do, with too few career opportunities in clinical practice. For far too long, nurses have endured a pay system that has held them back - both professionally as well as financially.

Greater personal choice, individually tailored services, stronger local accountability, greater efficiency - these are all central to the new direction of travel we have set for our public services.

Advances in technology and in our understanding of illness and disease together with an expanded workforce and greater resources will allow us to provide more services to a higher quality.

At the heart of these challenges lies the question of how the institutions of the European Union make laws, the types of laws they pass and the effectiveness with which those laws are implemented on civil society and the economy.