Miliband Quotes & Sayings

I don't know Ed Miliband as a person particularly well. — Nicola Sturgeon

Let the message go out - a new generation has taken charge of Labour which is optimistic about our country, optimistic about our world, optimistic about the power of politics. We are optimistic and together we will change Britain. — Ed Miliband

My advice is very simple: if you can win a small battle, it gives you confidence in the political process to take on bigger battles, and so it is very much a bottom-up grass-roots way of doing politics. — David Miliband

One of the jewels in the crown of Labour's time in office was the rescue of the National Health Service. As the Commonwealth Fund, the London School of Economics and the Nuffield Foundation have all shown, health reforms as well as additional investment were essential to improved outcomes, especially for poorer patients. — David Miliband

A company is not accountable just to its owners, but to its workers and its customers. — Ed Miliband

Well you can be the son of a Marxist and not necessarily be a Marxist in all your views. — Ed Miliband

We began as restless and radical. Remember the spirit of 1997, but by the end of our time in office we had lost our way. — Ed Miliband

I suppose not everyone has a dad who wrote a book saying he didn't believe in the Parliamentary road to socialism. — Ed Miliband

A majority of all defectors who voted Labour in 2010 but for a different party in 2015 said Ed Miliband had helped push them to another party. For those switching to the Tories, the second biggest reason was the fear that a Labour government would spend and borrow too much. — Michael Ashcroft

But for me, my personal relations, my personal family relations, are very important, and we've always tried to make sure that the public and the private are kept separate. — David Miliband

What is the big political issue for Britain at the moment? Without wishing to sound portentous, it is about whether we can build a social democratic settlement, whether we can lay the political and cultural foundations for the next several years. — David Miliband

One nation banking recognises that banks must not be isolated from the rest of the economy. Because banks and small businesses must succeed or fail together, banks must lend to small businesses so we can get the growth and jobs we need for the future. As things stand, that is not happening enough. Lending was down £10.8billion last year. — Ed Miliband

Good politics starts with empathy, proceeds to analysis, then sets out values and establishes the vision, before getting to the nitty-gritty of policy solutions. — David Miliband

Communism was meant to be an alternative religion. — David Miliband

I've supported Jeremy Corbyn all the way along because I think that was the right thing to do. I've reluctantly reached the conclusion that his position is untenable. — Ed Miliband

The test of leadership for David Cameron was actually to bring the British Conservative Party back in to the mainstream. — David Miliband

I'm at one with Ed Miliband in saying that it's important that people have the right to express their democratic voices and also their deep concerns about climate change because we have a planet in peril. — Douglas Alexander

The transition to a low-carbon economy will be one of the defining issues of the 21st century. This plan sets out a route-map for the UK's transition from here to 2020 ... every business, every community will need to be involved. Together we can create a more secure, more prosperous low carbon Britain and a world which is sustainable for future generations. — Ed Miliband

Congratulations to Barack Obama - great victory based on building fairer economy and optimism about what politics can achieve. — Ed Miliband

Freedom and opportunity are precious gifts and the purpose of our politics is to expand them, for all our people. — Ed Miliband

We do not have to accept the world as we find it. And we have a responsibility to leave our world a better place and never walk by on the other side of injustice. — Ed Miliband

In good times, people turn to Left wing parties, in bad times, they say, well, possibly Left-wing parties can't make those tough decisions ... We've got to buck that trend — Ed Miliband

Turning every business into an environmental industry will involve applying new principles ... first, we need to make more with less ... second, we need to design out waste ... third, we must begin to decarbonise our energy supply — David Miliband

Today, Labour has a disruptive economic narrative - that Britain needs fundamental change in its market structure and culture to compete in the modern world. — David Miliband

I abhor anything that constitutes torture. Water-boarding, it's perfectly clear to me it is torture. I never supported extraordinary rendition to torture, always said that Guantanamo should be closed. There is no clash of ideals and pragmatism there. — David Miliband

Clegg, Miliband, Farage resigning (rumours that they are to be the new Top Gear line-up cannot be confirmed at this time). — Charles Stross

The big risk to British lives in 2013 is in Afghanistan. Our troops, diplomats and aid workers have made a big contribution there. But while there is an end date for Western engagement, 2014, there isn't a proper end game. — David Miliband

I have run a general election campaign pregnant and ran Ed Miliband's leadership campaign commuting to London with a new baby so I already have my system set up. — Lucy Powell

Successful economies in the modern world are not sheepish about the power and responsibility of the state. — David Miliband

I was always brought up that if you can make a difference, you should, and if you don't it's a waste. So we'll see if I can make a difference. — David Miliband

Margaret Thatcher was the first political leader in any major country to warn of the dangers of climate change — Ed Miliband

Economic dynamism can be combined with environmental and social responsibility. High financial returns can go hand in hand with respect for human rights, and the preservation of the planet's natural resources — David Miliband

One of the characteristics of New Labour - and Miliband is irredeemably of that species - is that, in the guise of a new liberal language, it has adopted the age-old default mode of British foreign policy, namely military intervention. — Martin Jacques

Israelis and Palestinians are suspicious of each other and of promises from outside. But the need for a negotiated solution between the parties should not stymie international clarity and consensus about the endgame in terms of borders and other issues. — David Miliband

In the future, every industry should be an environmental industry. In a world where energy and carbon emissions are constrained, every business must take resource productivity seriously — David Miliband

I'm in agreement with David Miliband when he says our generation of Labour politicians are not willing to hand over the direction of the country without a serious electoral fight. — Douglas Alexander

I mean, Britain is a country of successful Muslim businesspeople, teachers and educators, journalists. So, we have to say very strongly that the two million plus Muslims in Britain, the vast bulk of them make a huge contribution to our society, and they actually make it the vibrant society it is. — David Miliband

We are living as if we had three planets' worth of resources to live with rather than just one. We need to cut by about two-thirds our ecological footprint. For that we need one planet farming as well as one planet living - one planet farming which minimises the impact on the environment of food production and consumption, and which maximises its contribution to renewal of the natural environment — David Miliband

New Labour leader Ed Miliband announces plan to 'make this party slightly less unelectable by 2015'. He added: 'I am Ed, the Almighty One.'
Defeated brother David Miliband overheard muttering: 'Now I know how Wayne Christ felt after little Jesus came along. — Andy Zaltzman

You know, you only get to live life once, so there are two things that that yields. One is that there's no point in crying over spilt milk, but secondly you hate wasting time, energy, and whatever talent you've got. — David Miliband

The whole of government needs to contribute to the shared goal of restructuring the British economy. But that means taking on the myth that the Treasury either knows best or can run it all. It just doesn't. — David Miliband

The BBC is locked to the reading of the economy that is run out of Ed Miliband and Ed Balls' office. They think if only you spend and borrow more money you can create growth everywhere. — Iain Duncan Smith

We know there can be no justice in the Middle East without a Palestinian state. But there can be no security in the Middle East without a Palestinian state. — David Miliband

There is a danger for Britain as we perceive ourselves, or as we are - less wealthy, facing economic austerity - that we essentially draw back. I think there is a recoil in parts of the country, and in parts of the government actually, from the multilateral system, and I think that's dangerous and wrong. — David Miliband

The biggest opportunity in 2013 is in Africa. It has seven out of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world. In Nigeria alone there are 100 million people with mobile phones. In total, 300 million Africans - five times the population of Britain - are in the middle class. — David Miliband

Under Ed Miliband's leadership, we are changing both our party's structures and culture. — Douglas Alexander

Let's start to have a grown up debate in this country about who we are and where we want to go and what kind of country we want to build. — Ed Miliband

Genghis Miliband roars up to the despatch box like a caged donkey. — Andy Zaltzman

If you want to fight against a declining trend, you've got to have a much bigger bazooka. — David Miliband

And think of how we challenged the idea of a male dominated Parliament with All-Women shortlists and made the cause of gender equality central to our government. We were right to do so. — Ed Miliband

The window of opportunity to avoid dangerous climate change is closing more quickly than previously thought. — David Miliband

Today, the UK must be the pioneer of a new model of economic change, that integrates social and environmental consideration. This is not just a question of values and moral duty. It is about our economy's capacity to sustain itself — David Miliband

Grown-up politicians talk to each other across party lines. Over the last few weeks I have had lengthy conversations with Ed Miliband, David Miliband, with Tony Blair, with Peter Mandelson ... talking about Europe, talking about political reform. — Nick Clegg

The next Prime Minister walking through that door will be me or (Labour Party leader) Ed Miliband, you can choose an economy that grows, that creates jobs, that generates the money to ensure a properly funded and improving NHS (National Health Service) ... and a government that will cut taxes for 30 million hard-working people ... or you can choose the economic chaos of Ed Miliband's Britain. — David Cameron

Look, there is a sort of old view about class which is a very simplistic view that we have got the working class, the middle class and the upper class, I think it is more complicated than that. — Ed Miliband

One of the things about the modern world is that the public and the private - which is not the same as the public and the personal - but the public and the private ... it's very, very much harder than it used to be to have things that are private and things that are public. — David Miliband

[Ed Miliband]'s elevated personal abuse into a sort of strategy — Nick Clegg

Think of how we challenged the impression that we taxed for its own sake and that we were hostile to business. We were right to change. — Ed Miliband

Crushing defeat for Great Britain #Euref. History will show no one won today. — David Miliband

You have to believe that it's through politics that societies can lead social and economic and political change. — David Miliband

My memories are of my dad taking me to football on Saturday mornings, and my mum taking me swimming. Those are the things I remember from my childhood, not sitting around the table debating capitalism and the profit squeeze. — David Miliband

In the end, human history is made up of all our decisions. — David Miliband

I think the wonderment of seeing my two sons developing makes me incredibly optimistic about human potential. It makes you think: 'My goodness. It's a miracle that's going on here. What could the human race do together?' — David Miliband

Over the next few days we want cities, towns and villages across the UK to send a message to Scotland: stay with us. — Ed Miliband

I am the 'change Britain' candidate. We can only change Britain through a united Labour Party and I am the unity candidate. I have got support from the Left and the Right of the party. — David Miliband

We can only converse if we can speak the same language. So if we are going to build One Nation, we need to start with everyone in Britain knowing how to speak English. — Ed Miliband

The clearest evidence that we are living beyond environmental means is the threat of dangerous climate change. The scale of this threat, to human life and to the natural resources and assets on which it depends, for everything from oxygen and clean water to healthy soils and flood defence, means that this simply must be our top priority — David Miliband

Consuming three planets' worth of resources when in fact we have one is the environmental equivalent of childhood obesity - eating until you make yourself sick — David Miliband

I come from a generation that suffered school lessons in portacabins and crumbling hospitals. I tell you one thing, for the eighteen years they were in power the Tories did nothing to fix the roof when the sun was shining. — Ed Miliband

The new generation of Labour is different. Different attitudes, different ideas, different ways of doing politics. — Ed Miliband

What's now urgently needed [to stop environmental disaster] is the international political commitment to take action to avoid dangerous climate change. — David Miliband

Ed Miliband is obviously a mild guy. I don't expect him to pretend to be a pugilist. — Robert Webb

This is a proud day and an important step forward in the fight for equality in Britain. The overwhelming majority of Labour MPs supported this change to make sure marriage reflects the value we place on long-term, loving relationships whoever you love. — Ed Miliband

The problems that the world faces - from nuclear proliferation to climate change - can't be tackled by the West alone. They need a coalition of not just West and East, but they need a coalition of Christian and Jew and Muslim. — David Miliband

We are a European nation - must stay one. — David Miliband

Dangerous climate change ... It's important not to be alarmist but it is very important to be alarmed — David Miliband

I've learnt that, sometimes, how others see you is not the same as how you see yourself. I've learnt about how you can be multitasking - and sometimes other people see that you're multitasking. And that's not very nice for them. — David Miliband

It's really important to say this. Often the faith schools were founded before the state provided education. I want good education in this country so I'm not going to slag off faith schools. I think that it's important that people of different backgrounds and different faiths go to school together and many faith schools do that. — Ed Miliband

We have to create security for the working families of Britain, and that's what I'll do — Ed Miliband

The Conservatives do not want to go into an election with the leaders' relative ratings as they are - but it is depressing to hear that plans are afoot to paint Miliband as the Michael Dukakis of British politics: part of a metropolitan elite with no understanding of mainstream concerns. — Michael Ashcroft

My favourite poem is called 'Roots and Wings' - it's a very moving poem about how if you've got real roots you can fly. — David Miliband

Everything about my politics has been about the future. — David Miliband

If you decide to run for the leadership, you have to go through it with the people you love. But you also have to protect them and I am determined to protect my mum. — David Miliband

One of Ed Miliband's shadow ministers has said he would never vote for the renewal of Trident. — Nicola Sturgeon

People feel politics isn't about their lives. — David Miliband

Ralph Miliband was a socialist intellectual of great integrity. He belonged to a generation of socialists formed by the Russian revolution and the Second World War, a generation that dominated left-wing politics for almost a century. — Tariq Ali

We don't compete in the world by offering tax advantages to a few that we don't give to all our citizens and businesses — Ed Miliband

Essentially, by 2050 we need all activities outside agriculture to be near zero carbon emitting if we are to stop carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere growing — David Miliband

Foreign policy is inseparable from domestic policy now. Is terrorism foreign policy or domestic policy? It's both. It's the same with crime, with the economy, climate change. — David Miliband

I've committed myself to serve my constituents in South Shields and I have committed myself to British politics. — David Miliband

I do not speak Hebrew, but I understand that it has no word for 'history.' The closest word for it is memory. — David Miliband

I'm a great believer in the Arsene Wenger school of management - which is, you don't worry about the opposition, you just get your own act together — David Miliband

I can't admit to myself that the creation of a Palestinian state won't happen. What I know is that with each passing year it gets more and more difficult to happen, not least because there is more and more bloodshed, generation upon generation. — David Miliband

Many people supported the Conservatives because of David Cameron, while many people supported Labour despite Ed Miliband. Deteriorating opinions of Cameron will therefore have a bigger impact on the Conservatives' vote share than worsening views of Miliband would have on Labour's. — Michael Ashcroft

While there's capitalism, there'll be socialism, because there is always a response to injustice. — Ed Miliband

Yes, look, social class is definitely an issue in Britain, it is definitely an issue and I think that most people across the country would sympathise with the idea that there are lots of people with talent and ability all across this country who want to make more of themselves and part of the responsibility of government is to make that happen. — Ed Miliband

One thing that I feel very, very strongly is that we talk about Islamic countries, Islamic people, Islamic leaders, as either moderates or extremists. It's almost like there are only two categories of Muslims. And actually, that doesn't show respect. It shows lack of understanding of the diversity of Muslim thought. — David Miliband

I treat opinion polls with a pinch of sugar. — Ed Miliband

We keep the terrorist threat to the United Kingdom under very careful scrutiny. We think it's right to keep the public informed about the general threat level. — David Miliband

The two biggest threats to international security in 2013 are Iran getting a nuclear weapon, and Iran being bombed to stop it getting a nuclear weapon. Both would precipitate a long and dangerous conflict in an already unstable Middle East. Both would be a disaster. — David Miliband