George Osborne Quotes

The message I would say to China is, ‘Carry on with the reform; carry on with the change you are making.’

I want to see genuine talent rewarded.

I think the British people are very, very attached to the idea that the health service is free at the point of use. But there is no reason why every doctor, nurse and teacher in this country has to be employed by the state.

Every day, I genuinely count my blessings. One of the greatest things in life is to do a job you really enjoy.

I fought passionately to remain in the E.U., and I warned of the economic risks if we left the E.U.

I am a social liberal.

Britain is an open and tolerant country, and I will fight with everything I have to keep it so.

I believe that I’m entitled to regard my pre-political life as off-limits in terms of what can be looked at and judged.

To simply argue that public spending must always go up and never be cut is irresponsible.

I had the closest thing I have ever had to an out-of-body experience lying in bed one morning. I turned on the ‘Today‘ programme and item four on the news was: ‘The shadow chancellor has ruled himself out of the leadership.’ I lay there thinking that’s interesting, then I realised it was me.

I would say I have taken substantive action to make things easier for people.

We need strength and success elsewhere in our country – not by pulling London down but by building the rest of the country up.

I think you can look at the British economy with confidence.

I think the British people have a strong sense of what is fair.

Well can I just say unlike my predecessors, Conservative and Labour, I have set up an independent body that studies whether what I’m saying is true, whether I’ve met the targets that I set out.

The Conservative party is at its strongest when it’s not the party that says there is no role for government and the state should just get out of the way. That is not a strand of Conservative thinking that, by itself, is enough.

Many retailers have complained bitterly to me about the complexity of the Carbon Reduction Commitment. It’s not a commitment; it’s a tax.

Only the U.K. can trigger Article 50. And in my judgement, we should only do that when there is a clear view about what new arrangements we are seeking with our European neighbours.

I understand the damage the expenses crisis has done to Parliament, and the paramount importance of restoring trust in our politics.

We need to think deeply about whether we can sustain banks that are not only too big to fail, but potentially too big to bail.

In football, as in politics, resilience pays off.

In opposition, you move to the centre. In government, you move the centre.

Britain has always been a home to the vulnerable, and we’ve always done what we need to do to help people who are fleeing persecution.

Britain can only spend what it can afford.

It’s in our interests that the euro is a successful, strong currency.

When I was born, the Internet was barely two years old. It was the preserve of academics, used to connect dozens rather than billions of users. There weren’t many who predicted it would transform our world.

The foundations of a strong economy don’t rest alone on the decisions of Chancellors or the spending programmes of government.

If the E.U. allows itself to be priced out of the world economy, the next generation will not get jobs, living standards will decline, and the Union will lose the popular consent of the people of Europe.

To all companies large and small, I would say this: the British economy is fundamentally strong; we are highly competitive, and we are open for business.

I think its important, particularly when you’ve got young children, to spend some time with them.

The Office for Budget Responsibility correctly stay out of the political debate and do not assess the long-term costs and benefits of E.U. membership.

The police protect us, and we’re going to protect the police.

People should know this of me: I will do what is required to keep our country safe and secure because, in the end, that is what people’s livelihoods and jobs rely on.

The Conservative Party mustn’t sound like the old man on the park bench who says things were better in 1985, or 1955, or 1855.

They all said I was a very young guy. Well there is nothing I can do about that but with each day that passes the problem solves itself.

There was a real fear that a euro-zone bank might fail, that we’d have a sovereign debt problem in one of the larger European economies. That’s dissipated, thanks largely to the action of the European Central Bank.

I first started going to Chelsea games in the mid-Nineties when I lived off the North End Road, ten minutes‘ walk from Stamford Bridge.

Our long-term economic plan is all about creating jobs and the economic security that comes with that.

I didn’t come from a traditional Tory background; it was urban and metropolitan.

The threat from terrorists – from extreme ideologies – needs to be challenged head-on.

The former pension minister, the Liberal Democrat Steve Webb said I was trying to abolish the lump sum. Instead, we are going to keep the lump sum and abolish the Liberal Democrats.

Of all the public services, education is the one I’m most interested in. You get a more dynamic economy, you deal with most social problems, and it’s morally right.

Britain needs a tough, strong financial conduct regulator.

Politics as a parent is fairly demanding; if your parent is in politics, it’s fairly demanding, so I make no excuses about taking two weeks off.

Some things never change, suck up to the government and you get an honour.

You know the illusion of the cheap money is over and now Britain has to go out there and graft and earn its way and create wealth and prosperity in a very competitive world.

Britain helped create the Internet – Tim Berners Lee created the World Wide Web, one of a long line of British scientists who have given us an outsized role in shaping our own digital future.

Britain has no divine right to be one of the richest countries in the world.

Britain can choose, as others are, short term fixes and more stimulus. Or we can lead the world with long-term solutions to long-term problems.

Most successful politicians don’t let the job swamp their lives.

The positive news is that the British economy is continuing to grow and is creating jobs. And it is positive news too that at a time of real international instability we are a safe haven in the storm.

If you want to change the way your banking system is regulated, if you want to learn the mistakes of what’s gone wrong, then you have to change your government.

It’s not enough to tackle just the symptoms of poverty. You have to tackle the causes of poverty.

There were some who wanted all the benefits of E.U. membership without any of the costs. I’m not sure that’s very realistic.

If we leave the European Union it’s a risk to our economy – it’s a risk to pensioners, it’s a risk to homeowners, it’s a risk to people in work.

Everyone in our society has had to make a contribution towards dealing with the debts.

I do not want Britain to turn its back on Europe or the rest of the world.

There is lots of evidence that it is this fear of going into debt that most puts people from poorer backgrounds off going to university.

I want Britain to be the home of successful competitive and stable financial services.

ISIL are already using the Internet for hideous propaganda purposes – for radicalisation, for operational planning, too.

It’s difficult to see how Syria can have any long-term future with Assad there as president. Many people would never return to that country if that were the case.

Rather than standing back and being left behind, we must make the most of the opportunities that a growing China presents to us here in Britain.

It’s not easy cutting welfare bills. It’s not easy cutting the deficit.

Brexit is for the richest in our country: they can afford recessions.

The British people think that if someone is disabled, then they should get all the care and support that we can offer.

If we don’t get a grip on government spending, there will be no growth.

I reject absolutely the idea that people should know their place, and know their class.

I think the best solution to this challenge, and I accept there is a challenge with homophobic bullying, is to make sure we get rid of the bullying rather than feeling we have to take kids out of our schools and teach then somewhere else. That would be the best approach.

I’m a very happy, content member of David Cameron‘s team. I fought very hard to get my friend elected as leader of the Conservative party, then elected as the prime minister of this country, and I’m very happy being part of that team that is bringing change to this country.

We are very supportive of the economic reforms that the Chinese government have talked about.

We have accepted there is a big role for government to create a framework where businesses can grow in all parts of the country.

Well British pension funds have not been investing the savings of British people in British infrastructure.

We don’t see a choice between securing growth and investment and raising human rights issues.

I’m not going out to parties every night.

What’s important is that, come the general election, people think the right things of you. They think that you’ve got the right values and the right policies. And that you’re the right kind of person to lead the country.

Well you know I’ve attracted a lot of criticism by, for example, suggesting that child benefit should be taken away from higher rate taxpaying families.

Unless they have disabilities to cope with, no family should get more from living on benefits than the average family gets from going out to work. No more open-ended chequebook.

I want London to be the global sporting capital.

The Internet has made us richer, freer, connected and informed in ways its founders could not have dreamt of. It has also become a vector of attack, espionage, crime and harm.

Our message to China is very clear: we want the U.K. to be China’s best partner in the West.