So I Went Into Government With A

I've Always Been Comfortable Working With Women And I've Had Two Happy Marriages. Draw What Conclusions You Like From That.

You Can't Win With Some People. If You're Not In Government, You're Criticised For Being Not Serious. If You Are In Government, You're Criticised For Wanting Power. That's The Labour Party's Line Of Attack, And It's A Bit Ridiculous.

My College, Fitzwilliam, Was Pretty Good But Unfashionable And I Lived In Digs So I Was Not Part Of The Cloistered 'old College' Environment, Which Frankly Was A Bit Intimidating. But I Worked Hard And Settled In By Exploring Politics And Girls.

My Time At Shell Was A Most Valuable Experience Because It Taught Me To Look At The World In A Long-term Way. Shell Takes A 20-year View On Events And Plans For Different Scenarios. It Makes You See The World As A Kind Of Large Matrix.

I Am Going To Confront The Old-fashioned Negative Thinking Which Says That All Government Needs To Do To Generate Growth Is Cut Worker And Environmental Protections, Cut Taxes On The Rich And Stroke 'fat Cats' Until They Purr With Pleasure. I'm Completely Repudiating The Idea That Government Has To Get Out Of The Way.