Stafford Cripps Quotes

We wanted to make it quite clear and beyond any possibility of doubt or question that the British Government and the British people desire the Indian peoples to have full self-government

It is quite understandable that Puerto Ricans seek to preserve a cultural sense of identity without separating politically from U.S. national sovereignty.

No foreigner has a place asking another people, another country, to change their constitution.

For me, everything is still possible and I am as determined as ever. I believe first that the project of a people does not die. It is the project of freedom for a people, it is a project of sovereignty. And since the nation exists, it has the right to its own state. I will work to advance it in that direction.

The decision on whether there is another referendum is down to the Scottish people.

I have no time for those who say there is no way Scotland could go it alone. I know first-hand the contribution Scotland and Scots make to Britain's success - so for me there's no question about whether Scotland could be an independent nation.

In historical and constitutional terms, the recent political status vote in Puerto Rico was a necessary but obviously not decisive step on the road of self-determination leading to full self-government.

The test of a good colonial policy is that it shall prepare colonies for independent self—government.

I think I see a free and independent kingdom delivering up that which all the world hath been fighting for …, to wit a power to manage their own affairs by themselves without the assistance and counsel of any other.

Sub-national, ethnic or tribal factions cannot expect to undermine the political unit in which they exist while claiming the privileges of a sovereign nation-state.

What have I got for Ireland? Something which she has wanted these past 700 years. Will anyone be satisfied with the bargain? Will anyone? I tell you this -— early this morning I signed my death warrant.

… the most sacred right [revolution] to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better.

What is the basic unit of "self" in the expression "self-government?" How large does your group have to be before it can be a government unto itself? In fact, do you have to be part of a group at all?

The people of Ireland are ready to become a portion of the [British] Empire, provided that they be made so in reality, and not in name alone.

Development is the foundation of resolving Tibet’s problem.

For months, people have been asking my views about the Scottish independence referendum, and I've been saying, 'It's not my country; I don't live here. Much as I love Scotland, I think it would be inappropriate to express a personal opinion regarding Scottish politics'.

Scotland is not a region of the U.K.; Scotland is a nation, and if we cannot protect our interests within a U.K. that is going to be changing fundamentally, then that right of Scotland to consider the options of independence has to be there.

I don't feel we need to be independent for me to feel confident in my Scottish identity. I think Scotland is pretty comfortable in its identity. We won't need independence to preserve it... if we don't become independent, it won't disappear; it isn't under existential threat.

Independence is the only way Scotland can realise its full political and cultural potential in the 21st century.

I think Scotland will become an independent country. I've always believed that. It means that if I'm right on that, there has to be another referendum at some stage. But the timing and circumstances of that will require careful judgment.

I have very little experience of self-government. In fact, I am one of the most governed people in the world.

Moscow is simply unwilling to recognize the right of self-determination of nations.

Every nation has a right to govern itself internally under what forms it pleases, and to change these forms at its own will.

No people without a government of their own can expect to be treated on the same level as people of independent sovereign states. It is far better to be free to govern or misgovern yourself than to be governed by anybody else . . .

I want India to come into her own and that state cannot be better defined by any single word than Swaraj.