Grant Shapps Quotes

What I try to keep an eye on is I don't work for the party bosses in Washington. I work for 26 million Texans.

That's what I think regions are about, making central government more accountable and fairer.

I believe that a politician needs to be with people.

There are two rules for mayors: Be there and do something.

There's a truth about public service that is often unspoken and rarely understood - that the role of our elected officials is about much more than balancing budgets and ensuring the delivery of essential services.

The people of South Jersey are counting on me.

I just want to do a good job as mayor.

I just feel I can deliver the best outcomes for the people of NSW.

As Public Advocate for the City of New York, I have a duty to speak truth to power and do what is best for our City and its residents.

If aldermen are doing their job right, they should be the ones who are closest to the vibe and the beat in their neighborhood and have a very important role to play on a number of different issues, but not a unilateral, unchecked right. That's gone as soon as I take office.

You have to tell the people that you want to serve what it is you believe and what you are going to do on their behalf.

You need to have good people: honourable, capable, committed in politics, standing in public office. It's not a guarantee, but it's the ideal we have to aim for.

In all of our efforts, we continue to emphasize the importance of inclusivity and transparency on the part of the Afghan government and leadership, especially in linking nascent local governing institutions to the decision-making and financial resources in Kabul.

A minister is supposed to be there to remind his permanent officials that they work for the rest of us. If, instead, he becomes the cabinet champion and public spokesman for his department, democracy is vitiated.

The job of elected officials is to answer to the people who sent them to Washington - not to scorn them, not to demean them, not to mock them, and not to sell their jobs and dreams to the highest bidder.

I am not the type of politician who will tell you I am going to act for my own benefit. The answer is no, I will continue to serve the public.

I think Alaskans expect me to think, to think about them and do the right thing for them.

Everything that is large and institutional should be distrusted, even though it may be the best around. The Internal Revenue Service doesn't trust me, so why should I trust them? It's a quid pro quo arrangement.

'Duty' is a refreshingly honest memoir and a moving one. Mr. Gates scrupulously identifies his flaws and mistakes: He waited too long, for example, for the military bureaucracy to fix critical supply issues like the drones needed in Iraq and took three years to replace a dysfunctional command structure in Afghanistan.

In the political system, we are a team; politics and bureaucracy, we are a team. The politicians, bureaucrats and the people, we are a team.

I do believe that the majority of elected officials worked very hard and their heart is in the right place.

Honestly, if you are going to run for public office, I think it's incumbent... to speak up.

Elected officials have always been held to a higher standard, as we should be.

We need elected officials who care more about policy than politics.

I will be a president that can share a glass of soju with the public after work.