"Rising unemployment and the recession have been the price that we have had to pay to get inflation down. That price is well worth paying."

“My wife said she'd never heard me singing in the bath until last week.”

“There is something wrong with the way in which we make our decisions. The Government listen too much to the pollsters and the party managers. The trouble is that they are not even very good at politics, and they are entering too much into policy decisions. As a result, there is too much short-termism, too much reacting to events, and not enough shaping of events. We give the impression of being in office but not in power. Far too many important decisions are made for 36 hours' publicity.”

“There are going to be no devaluations, no leaving the ERM. We are absolutely committed to the ERM. It is at the centre of our policy. We are going to maintain sterling's parity and we will do whatever is necessary, and I hope there is no doubt about that at all.”

“The green shoots of economic spring are appearing once again.”

“What is the right exchange rate at one point is not necessarily the right exchange rate at another.”