Normally, people give up parliament because they want to do more business or spend more time with family. My wife said 'why don't you say you're giving up to devote more time to politics?'. And it is what I have done.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When you first come into Parliament, it's a daunting place because you feel you've so much to learn. Once you've been re-elected, you feel much more confident. It just gives you a bit of a boost.
My function in life is not to be a politician in Parliament: it is to get something done.
Today, parliaments are more important because of the need of legitimacy, of the popular legitimacy, of public opinion legitimacy of politics. Parliaments are, at the end of the day, the only true legitimacy.
People have become disillusioned with Parliament, and that threatens democracy.
A Parliament is nothing less than a big meeting of more or less idle people.
Individuals have little opportunity to get elected to Parliament under the label of the government party... unless they are in good standing with the Prime Minister and pledged to be cooperative.
There's much more we can be doing in Parliament, we could be giving more power back to people at local government level, through local referendums.
Everybody is a political person, whether you say something or you are silent. A political attitude is not whether you go to parliament; it's how you deal with your life, with your surroundings.
Basically, I have no place in organized politics. By coming to the British Parliament, I've allowed the people to sacrifice me at the top and let go the more effective job I should be doing at the bottom.
The reason why I'm in Parliament is not really to see my colleagues win power; it is to see us at last in a position where we can give it up.