Quote

I have moved on from being a British parliamentarian, I have moved on from being a New Labour politician, I have moved on from being the supporter in the active day-to-day sense of Tony Blair.

I am not a parliamentarian. I am a politician. Some MPs leave and are itching to get back. I don't feel that. This is just a work environment.

I came in to make a difference, to be a minister, to make policy.

I had no intention of getting back into politics. I was teaching at Bowdoin and happily retired from politics.

I did not resign from politics because of Bofors. I resigned because I do not know how to play petty politics. I did not know back then and I don't know now either.

But always I was a private citizen whose activities in government or political party were appointive.

I came into politics because of my opposition to what a Tory Government was doing to the community I grew up in.

I was through as a manager. I did become involved late in the 1968 campaign at the national scene at the last minute. But I was through as a manager, and I've stayed through, incidentally.