Diane Abbott Quotes

It is true that I entered parliament at the age of 23, and have now been representing the people of my constituency for over twenty years.

The industrial revolution caused unspeakable misery both in England and in America … In the Lancashire cotton mills (from which Marx and Engels derived their livelihood), children worked from 12 to 16 hours a day; they often began working at the age of six or seven. Children had to be beaten to keep them from falling asleep while at work; in spite of this, many failed to keep awake and were mutilated or killed. Parents had to submit to the infliction of these atrocities upon their children, because they themselves were in a desperate plight. Craftsmen had been thrown out of work by the machines; rural labourers were compelled to migrate to the towns by the Enclosure Acts, which used Parliament to make landowners richer by making peasants destitute; trade unions were illegal until 1824; the government employed agents provocateurs to try to get revolutionary sentiments out of wage-earners, who were then deported or hanged. Such was the first effect of machinery in England.

Serving my neighbors in Congress and fighting for them has been the best job I've ever had.

My father said I was perfectly suited for Washington because I've always worked around nuts.

Well, why do you want a political career? Have you ever been in the House of Commons and taken a good square look at the inmates? As weird a gaggle of freaks and sub-humans as was ever collected in one spot.

I have dealt with politicians ever since I came into the government in 1971. I have seen many prime ministers, many finance ministers.

I'm doing a good job in Washington.

I have no desire to run for public office.

Being speaker has afforded me a unique opportunity to serve parliament, for which I am immensely grateful.

My dad is a builder, and my mum's a nurse. They're just very normal people.

My dad was a civil servant, and my mum was a secretary.

I talk about jobs. I talk about education. I talk about making government work for people. That's really the dinner-table issues that I hear from Michiganders in every part of our state.

The pressures of being an MP mean free time is a very rare luxury.

My sister is not interested in any political positions; not in Rajya Sabha or anything else.

Since 1998, I have served my country as a member of four cabinets and as the leader of the parliamentary opposition.

My parents were blue-collar.

I'm from a salt-of-the-earth, working-class, northern background. My dad's a steelworker and a firefighter, and my mum is a secretary for the NHS.

I didn't want to be a senator, but I considered it anyway.

My job is to be an MP. It's not just about Europe.

Our dad was just a congressman for 27 years, and if you live in Washington, D.C., everybody's dad works for the government. We grew up just like everyone else.

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

I never set out to work in the White House.

I encourage all young people who are interested in government to try and apply to work for a congressman or some other elected official because you get very good experience.

The most important job is not to be governor, or first lady in my case.

If enough Americans determine I could do a better job in public office, and Mrs. Nugent and my beloved family agree, there is no limit what I am willing to do for my country.