Nicholas Budgen - Quotations

Quotations

On the Downing Street Declaration which stated that Britain has "no selfish, strategic or economic interest" in maintaining the Union with Northern Ireland. Budgen asked John Major the question - "Can I reassure my constituents that the United Kingdom has an interest in maintaining Wolverhampton in the Union?"

On the 1988 Budget - "It is the most irresponsible budget I have ever heard, it will be downhill from now on. In one fell swoop Mr Lawson has squandered five years of responsible economic management."

On supporting Douglas Hurd in the 1990 Conservative leadership contest: "it is the Conservative worker's fate to be betrayed by his leader, so we may at least be betrayed elegantly."

"New Labour will not nationalise industry, it will instead nationalise people."

"If the Conservatives say beggars should be kicked once, then New Labour will say that beggars should be kicked twice."

"It would be my general feeling that the transference of power to Europe was so important a matter as to require a vote against any organisation and any party that wished to transfer that power."

On John Major: "he would make a reasonably competent head of a Wolverhampton Social Security office."

"If it comes to power, those solid citizens will put pressure on the fresh-faced public school boy (Tony Blair) and we shall be back to the old story of an enormous public sector borrowing requirement, higher taxes and higher interest rates, and there will be no difference whatsoever in substance between the fresh-faced public school boy and all the old chaps who are in favour of old Labour."

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London and former Labour MP once "said admiringly" to Nick Budgen in 1996: "you've made Major change his policy on Europe, again and again.".

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