I think the first decision I took when I became a government minister was to reverse the planned closure of Monklands Accident and Emergency. It's an issue close to my heart.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
So I went into government with a clear mind about what the problems were, and what needed to be done.
I now know what to do; I know how decisions can be made. I know how you can drive ministers and their departments to actually make decisions and bring results.
I came in to make a difference, to be a minister, to make policy.
There is always a temptation for governments: see a problem and announce a quick fix.
I was thrown into the Parliament right away. From 1976 to 1978 I was concerned with the abortion issue, later on with that of divorce.
I missed a lot of decisions. At the time of making such a decision, there was no doubt in my mind as to its correctness. However, a second or two later I felt that I erred and wished I could change my original ruling.
Declaring independence was the most traumatic decision I had to live up to. Because I didn't want to do it.
There is a time for everything, also for my time in politics which has been long and eventful. Now I believe it is time for others to take the baton that was passed to me following the crash. I have therefore decided to leave political life at the end of this term.
The best decision I ever made was to become a priest and I think the second best was to resign.
Not reforming the NHS would have been a much easier decision for me as secretary of state to have taken. We could have just protected the NHS from cuts, put in an extra £12.5bn and left it there. But sooner or later the cracks would have started to show. New treatments would have been held back.
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