Michael Portillo

Michael Portillo in 2008

Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as Great British Railway Journeys and Great Continental Railway Journeys. A former member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Enfield Southgate from 1984 to 1997 and Kensington and Chelsea from 1999 to 2005.

Quotes

1994

• If any of you have got an A-level it is because you have worked to get it. Go to any other country and when you have got an A-level, you have bought it.
  • Speech to Conservative students at Southampton University, quoted in Philip Webster and Jonathan Prynn, 'Portillo says sorry after ‘cheats’ gaffe', The Times (5 February 1994), p. 1

• They [the British people] realise if we have a single currency we would be a long way towards that [European political union], because if the economic decisions have to be taken centrally that is an important part of the independence and sovereignty of any country.
  • Interview on GMTV (1 May 1994), quoted in Jill Sherman, 'Portillo widens Tory divisions on Europe', The Times (2 May 1994), p. 1

• A [single currency] would mean giving up the government of the UK. No British government can give up the government of the UK. That's impossible.
  • Statement (1 May 1994), quoted in 'Speaking of a single currency...', The Times (10 February 1995), p. 8

• Taxation, by reducing people's disposable income, removes choices that are rightly theirs...for many people the role of government has sapped from them — one might almost say confiscated — their sense of responsibility towards other people... I believe in the increase in wealth... People need to be motivated... Conservatives believes that the lion's share of what an individual earns should be left with him... We must rethink what provision should be made for the contingencies of life by the State... Spreading the enterprise culture, minimising the role of the State, improving incentives, striving for low rates for personal and corporate tax.
  • Clear Blue Water, pamphlet published by Conservative Way Forward, quoted in William Rees-Mogg, 'Give us something to believe', The Times (10 October 1994), p. 18

• The State has slipped into an attitude of studied amorality... It is time to return to plain speaking and traditional values... The new British Disease — the self-destructive sickness of national cynicism... The chattering classes have succumbed to masochism and defeatism... We should not allow the national debate to be driven by the agendas of tiny discontented minorities... Those who wish to give up national sovereignty and see Britain absorbed into a crowned European political body show the ultimate symptoms of political doubt, even defeatism... We are a proud nation... Conservatism begins with individualism, but it doesn't end there... Britain's armed forces are superb... The quiet majority also looks to us to defend it from crime... The free market is democratic and decentralising. It is a wonderfully efficient transmitter of information... A powerful bulwark of political and personal freedom... Political union would mean giving up the government of the United Kingdom... That's impossible.
  • Clear Blue Water, pamphlet published by Conservative Way Forward, quoted in William Rees-Mogg, 'Give us something to believe', The Times (10 October 1994), p. 18

1995

• At the next election there will be a stark choice for the British people. The fundamental issue will be sovereignty: sovereignty of the nation and sovereignty of the individual. Britons can vote to defend it or to lose it... That is clear blue water.
  • Speech to the Scottish Conservative Party conference in Glasgow (10 May 1995), quoted in Nicholas Wood, 'Clarke and Portillo vie for soul of Tory party', The Times (11 May 1995), p. 2

• Brussels is a city packed with people who know what is best for us. People who have never created a job in their lives, of course, but who tell businesses how to consult their workforce, what hours they must work, how much time off for new mothers and how much for new fathers. Their knowledge fills an entire chapter, the social chapter... Without the social chapter we are free; free to write our own laws, free to export, and free to win.
  • Speech to the Scottish Conservative Party conference in Glasgow (10 May 1995), quoted in Michael Dynes, 'Santer vetoes the ‘opt-out Europe’ Britain favours', The Times (11 May 1995), p. 15

• [Schools should teach the history] of this remarkable country...the real history of heroes and bravery, of good versus evil, of freedom against tyranny. Of Nelson, Wellington and Churchill.
  • Speech to the Conservative Party conference (10 October 1995), quoted in Philip Webster, 'Tories make Europe their battleground', The Times (11 October 1995), p. 1

• Around the world three letters send a chill down the spine of the enemy — SAS. And those letters spell out one clear message: don't mess with Britain.
  • Speech to the Conservative Party conference (10 October 1995), quoted in Philip Webster, 'Tories make Europe their battleground', The Times (11 October 1995), p. 1

1997

• We believe that children are best brought up in stable family arrangements with two parents. But we admire those many people who are doing an excellent job raising children on their own. The important thing is that people recognise the responsibility they have when they conceive children and do all they can to provide a warm, caring and balanced home for them. Our society has changed. For good or ill, many people nowadays do not marry and yet head stable families with children. For a younger generation, in particular, old taboos have given way to less judgmental attitudes to the span of human relationships. There remain many other people to whom the new norms seem all wrong. The Tory party is conservative and not given to political correctness. Still the party never rejects the world that is. Tolerance is a part of the Tory tradition.
  • Speech to the Centre for Policy Studies (9 October 1997), quoted in Jill Sherman, '‘Tolerance is a part of the Tory tradition’', The Times (10 October 1997), p. 11

• Tories were linked to harshness; thought to be uncaring about unemployment, poverty, poor housing, disability and single parenthood; and considered indifferent to moral arguments over landmines and arms sales. We were thought to favour greed and the unqualified pursuit of the free market, with a 'devil take the hindmost' attitude.
  • Speech to the Centre for Policy Studies (9 October 1997), quoted in Jill Sherman, '‘Tolerance is a part of the Tory tradition’', The Times (10 October 1997), p. 11