Iain Duncan Smith Quotes

All I can say to the others is, 'Look out, we're on our way.

Over the years the political establishment has frowned if a mainstream politician mentions marriage.

Aspiration, it seems, is in danger of becoming the preserve of the wealthy.

Look, I've always said from the word go many years ago that I felt the whole bonus culture, they need to think very carefully about being detached from the rest of the British public.

No I'm not a great believer in getting back over things and saying if only, or if, or buts because I don't think we actually get anywhere on that.

I went up to the top of the career ladder and I came down again, I am past all that.

If you knowingly and willingly embark on criminal behaviour, the consequences of that should be ... that you lose some of your benefits under the current system

My personal view is always I'm in favour of anything that gives parliament a greater say. That's after all what we were elected for.

Can there not be a limit to the fact that really you need to cut your cloth in accordance with what capabilities and finances you have?

I am an optimist about the UK. We have been involved in trade with our European partners, which we will always be doing whatever this relationship is. We are a member of the EU. That gives us benefits. But we have to figure out where that is going. In the world, we are a global trader already.

I have two daughters, it really means a lot to me to have two women standing now and being the PM.

We do a disservice to society if we ignore the evidence which shows that stable families tend to be associated with better outcomes for children.

The public thinks that homelessness is about not having any accommodation to go to.

Getting a family into work, supporting strong relationships, getting parents off drugs and out of debt - all this can do more for a child's well-being than any amount of money in out-of-work benefits.

After years of piecemeal reform the current welfare system is complex and unfair.

That thing, 'You must stay together for the kids', is out of fashion but is right. It's not arguing parents that children don't like, it is having one parent.

All too often, government's response to social breakdown has been a classic case of 'patching' - a case of handing money out, containing problems and limiting the damage but, in doing so, supporting - even reinforcing - dysfunctional behaviour.

Well obviously the economy is critical to everything we do and we need to get the economy back in shape, the deficit down, the debt paid off, so that the economy can grow again and grow properly.

I think that the status that you have in life should be reflected in official documents. If you are married, fine, if you are living with someone, fine, if you are single, fine. We don't want to tell people how to live their lives.

Balance is if you try hard, you work hard then the rewards are in balance with what you put in and what is available.

Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man.

I do not believe the picture that some people paint of Scottish towns dependent on welfare. Every time I come here, I meet people who are determined to get into work. Who, with the right help are desperate to get off benefits, support their family and set an example for their children.

When families are strong and stable, so are children - showing higher levels of wellbeing and more positive outcomes. But when things go wrong - either through family breakdown or a damaged parental relationship - the impact on a child's later life can be devastating.

I am not going to go round trying to make people say 'Wow!' ... I'm not going to play Hollywood lookalikes.

For families across the UK who are income-poor, but more than that, whose lives are blighted by worklessness, educational failure, family breakdown, problem debt and poor health, as well as other problems, giving them an extra pound - say through increased benefits - will not address the reason they find themselves in difficulty in the first place.

Work is transformative. It gives you a greater chance of a greater income. You can affect your life while you're of working age, so you have scope and opportunity. Pensioners do not.

For those who are able to work, work has to be seen as the best route out of poverty. For work is not just about more money - it is transformative. It's about taking responsibility for yourself and your family.

I think almost every political leader is always told that the next speech they make is the most crucial one.

When the news is good, the BBC view is: 'Get the government out of the picture quickly, don't allow them to say anything about it.' When the news is bad: 'Let's all dump on the government.'

Government cannot do it all. As we work hard to break welfare dependency and get young people ready for the labour market, we need businesses to give them a chance and not just fall back on labour from abroad.

The number one priority now is reducing the deficit that they [Labour] left us - the biggest deficit since the Second World War.

What we want to do is reform the welfare system in the way that Tony Blair talked about 13 years ago but never achieved - a system that was created for the days after the Second World War. That prize is now I think achievable.

Thankfully, due to the United Kingdom and the commitment of the Westminster government we are able to ensure that money brought in, whether it be from the City of London or from North Sea oil, can be pooled and directed to wherever it is needed most. That is what being in the United Kingdom is all about.

The future of Conservatism lies in our beliefs and values, not by throwing them away. We need to shed associations that bind us to past failures, but hold faith with those things that make us Conservatives.

In many ways, Scotland will benefit more than other parts of the UK when Universal Credit comes in. A larger percentage of people will see an increase in their income through moving into work or taking on more hours.

There is nothing people can throw at me to say: 'Do this, do that.'

By measuring the proportion of children living with the same parents from birth and whether their parents report a good quality relationship we are driving home the message that social programmes should promote family stability and avert breakdown.

You cannot stop what the public want. The public want two strong women in the final round and then a woman prime minister and I'm absolutely with that.

There are few more powerful tools for promoting stability than the institution of marriage.

No one out there is interested in who did what to whom in Westminster politics.

With the right support, a child growing up in a dysfunctional household, who was destined for a lifetime on benefits could be put on an entirely different track - one which sees them move into fulfilling and sustainable work. In doing so, they will pull themselves out of poverty.

What happened I think on Sept. 11 was we were given graphic and clear evidence that things had changed.

It's fairness to say those who work hard, get up in the morning, cut their cloth - in other words 'we can only afford to have one or two children because we don't earn enough'. They pay their taxes and they want to know that the same kind of decision-making is taking place for those on benefits.

Too many couples break up without understanding the consequences for their families.

If you look at the footballers, you look at our celebrity culture, we seem to be saying, 'This is the way you want to be'. We seem to be a society that celebrates all the wrong people.

My view is pensioners don't have the one option that people of working age have. They can't really increase their income, because they are no longer able to work.

[Andrea] Leadsom has compassion ... a real steel and a real determination and that velvet glove of compassion that she really cares about people.

We have to challenge the whole idea that it's acceptable for a society like Britain to have such a significant number of people who do not work one day of the week and don't have any possibility of improving the quality of their lives.