David Miliband, Born: 15 July 1965, Hampstead, London, England, UK

History is information. Memory is part of your identity.

The wedding ring on my left hand was bought by my grandfather, Samuel Miliband, in Brussels in 1920....Show more »

The wedding ring on my left hand was bought by my grandfather, Samuel Miliband, in Brussels in 1920. I never knew him, as he died when I was one. But his ring was kept by my aunt until it was placed on my finger by my wife Louise 32 years later. Show less «

You have to believe that it's through politics that societies can lead social and economic and polit...Show more »

You have to believe that it's through politics that societies can lead social and economic and political change. Show less «

Today, Labour has a disruptive economic narrative - that Britain needs fundamental change in its mar...Show more »

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

And the truth is, those who are terrorists only have to succeed once, and those of us who are trying...Show more »

And the truth is, those who are terrorists only have to succeed once, and those of us who are trying to build an inclusive society have to succeed every time. Show less «

I was always brought up that if you can make a difference, you should, and if you don't it's a waste...Show more »

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. Show less «

I think the wonderment of seeing my two sons developing makes me incredibly optimistic about human p...Show more »

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?' Show less «

I do not speak Hebrew, but I understand that it has no word for 'history.' The closest word for it i...Show more »

I do not speak Hebrew, but I understand that it has no word for 'history.' The closest word for it is memory. Show less «

The American idea that everyone graduates high school at 18 is a good one.

In Britain, the centrally prescribed welfare to work system short-changes the young unemployed. Tran...Show more »

In Britain, the centrally prescribed welfare to work system short-changes the young unemployed. Transport, housing and education are over centralised. Show less «

My memories are of my dad taking me to football on Saturday mornings, and my mum taking me swimming....Show more »

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. Show less «

Good politics starts with empathy, proceeds to analysis, then sets out values and establishes the vi...Show more »

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. Show less «

I abhor anything that constitutes torture. Water-boarding, it's perfectly clear to me it is torture....Show more »

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. Show less «

I've committed myself to serve my constituents in South Shields and I have committed myself to Briti...Show more »

I've committed myself to serve my constituents in South Shields and I have committed myself to British politics. Show less «

John Major put the 'er' back into Conservative, David Cameron's put the 'Con' into Conservative - an...Show more »

John Major put the 'er' back into Conservative, David Cameron's put the 'Con' into Conservative - and Norman Lamont put the 'vat' into Conservative! Show less «

The real danger to Britain is a foreign policy that is isolationist in Europe and therefore weak in ...Show more »

The real danger to Britain is a foreign policy that is isolationist in Europe and therefore weak in the rest of the world. Show less «

Al Qaeda has no place in Pakistan. It's a threat to Pakistan. And there should be a convergence of i...Show more »

Al Qaeda has no place in Pakistan. It's a threat to Pakistan. And there should be a convergence of interests between the Pakistani state and the West on security issues, but also on wider economic and social issues. Show less «

Communism was meant to be an alternative religion.

Successful economies in the modern world are not sheepish about the power and responsibility of the ...Show more »

Successful economies in the modern world are not sheepish about the power and responsibility of the state. Show less «

The 1970s - I was ten in 1975 - were a bad decade in all sorts of ways but the middle class had comf...Show more »

The 1970s - I was ten in 1975 - were a bad decade in all sorts of ways but the middle class had comfortable assumptions about the prospects for its children. The middle class was smaller then; it was a much less competitive Britain, less meritocratic. Show less «

The biggest novelty of 2013 will be new leadership in China. Very little is known about the views of...Show more »

The biggest novelty of 2013 will be new leadership in China. Very little is known about the views of the new leaders - who will rule the country for ten years. But we do know they're the first generation of Chinese leaders who have spent the majority of their lives in a China 'opening up' to the rest of the world. Show less «

We know there can be no justice in the Middle East without a Palestinian state. But there can be no ...Show more »

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. Show less «

People feel politics isn't about their lives.

I mean, Britain is a country of successful Muslim businesspeople, teachers and educators, journalist...Show more »

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. Show less «

I can't admit to myself that the creation of a Palestinian state won't happen. What I know is that w...Show more »

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. Show less «

Israelis and Palestinians are suspicious of each other and of promises from outside. But the need fo...Show more »

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. Show less «

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

We keep the terrorist threat to the United Kingdom under very careful scrutiny. We think it's right ...Show more »

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. Show less «

My advice is very simple: if you can win a small battle, it gives you confidence in the political pr...Show more »

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. Show less «

People want more power over their own lives. That's not just true in Britain, it's true around the w...Show more »

People want more power over their own lives. That's not just true in Britain, it's true around the world. Show less «

There is a danger for Britain as we perceive ourselves, or as we are - less wealthy, facing economic...Show more »

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. Show less «

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

The biggest opportunity in 2013 is in Africa. It has seven out of the ten fastest-growing economies ...Show more »

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. Show less «

I am the 'change Britain' candidate. We can only change Britain through a united Labour Party and I ...Show more »

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. Show less «

The test of leadership for David Cameron was actually to bring the British Conservative Party back i...Show more »

The test of leadership for David Cameron was actually to bring the British Conservative Party back in to the mainstream. Show less «

My favourite poem is called 'Roots and Wings' - it's a very moving poem about how if you've got real...Show more »

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. Show less «

The big risk to British lives in 2013 is in Afghanistan. Our troops, diplomats and aid workers have ...Show more »

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. Show less «

You know, you only get to live life once, so there are two things that that yields. One is that ther...Show more »

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. Show less «

The two biggest threats to international security in 2013 are Iran getting a nuclear weapon, and Ira...Show more »

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. Show less «

One thing that I feel very, very strongly is that we talk about Islamic countries, Islamic people, I...Show more »

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. Show less «

The problems that the world faces - from nuclear proliferation to climate change - can't be tackled ...Show more »

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. Show less «

Foreign policy is inseparable from domestic policy now. Is terrorism foreign policy or domestic poli...Show more »

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. Show less «

One of the things about the modern world is that the public and the private - which is not the same ...Show more »

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. Show less «

Everything about my politics has been about the future.

I don't think I've ever been accused of being faddish. I'm more Marks & Spencer than Ted Baker.]

The whole of government needs to contribute to the shared goal of restructuring the British economy....Show more »

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. Show less «

But for me, my personal relations, my personal family relations, are very important, and we've alway...Show more »

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. Show less «

I've learnt that, sometimes, how others see you is not the same as how you see yourself. I've learnt...Show more »

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. Show less «

One of the jewels in the crown of Labour's time in office was the rescue of the National Health Serv...Show more »

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. Show less «

What is the big political issue for Britain at the moment? Without wishing to sound portentous, it i...Show more »

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. Show less «