Iain Duncan Smith's Quotes

My view is pensioners don't have the one option that people of working age have. They can't really increase their income, because they are no longer able to work.

Thankfully, due to the United Kingdom and the commitment of the Westminster government we are able to ensure that money brought in, whether it be from the City of London or from North Sea oil, can be pooled and directed to wherever it is needed most. That is what being in the United Kingdom is all about.

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.

The fact is that in too many communities in cities in Britain gangs now have become completely rooted into these communities and they destroy them around them.

The future of Conservatism lies in our beliefs and values, not by throwing them away. We need to shed associations that bind us to past failures, but hold faith with those things that make us Conservatives.

We do need to have a little bit more protection and sensibility around pensioners. They are remarkable. They gave so much. We need to make sure we do our best by them.

We have to challenge the whole idea that it's acceptable for a society like Britain to have such a significant number of people who do not work one day of the week and don't have any possibility of improving the quality of their lives.

We have to ensure that our immigration system works in the interests of Britain, enabling us to make a realistic promise to our young school-leavers. It is part of our contract with the British people.

Well obviously the economy is critical to everything we do and we need to get the economy back in shape, the deficit down, the debt paid off, so that the economy can grow again and grow properly.

What we want to do is reform the welfare system in the way that Tony Blair talked about 13 years ago but never achieved - a system that was created for the days after the Second World War. That prize is now I think achievable.

When the news is good, the BBC view is: 'Get the government out of the picture quickly, don't allow them to say anything about it.' When the news is bad: 'Let's all dump on the government.'

With high underemployment - currently over one million part-time workers in the UK want to work more hours - sanctioning clients who cannot increase their hours seems to be both unworkable and unfair.

Work is transformative. It gives you a greater chance of a greater income. You can affect your life while you're of working age, so you have scope and opportunity. Pensioners do not.

Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man.

When families are strong and stable, so are children - showing higher levels of wellbeing and more positive outcomes. But when things go wrong - either through family breakdown or a damaged parental relationship - the impact on a child's later life can be devastating.

Well football teams are perhaps easier to control than political parties, I'm sure the Prime Minister would agree with me, but yeah I think every team needs discipline and a sense of self-belief and that's important, that's what leadership's all about.

Too many couples break up without understanding the consequences for their families.

A system that was originally designed to support the poorest in society is now trapping them in the very condition it was supposed to alleviate.

Luck is great, but most of life is hard work.

With the right support, a child growing up in a dysfunctional household, who was destined for a lifetime on benefits could be put on an entirely different track - one which sees them move into fulfilling and sustainable work. In doing so, they will pull themselves out of poverty.

For families across the UK who are income-poor, but more than that, whose lives are blighted by worklessness, educational failure, family breakdown, problem debt and poor health, as well as other problems, giving them an extra pound - say through increased benefits - will not address the reason they find themselves in difficulty in the first place.

For those who are able to work, work has to be seen as the best route out of poverty. For work is not just about more money - it is transformative. It's about taking responsibility for yourself and your family.

No I'm not a great believer in getting back over things and saying if only, or if, or buts because I don't think we actually get anywhere on that.

The public thinks that homelessness is about not having any accommodation to go to.

Every parent wants to know that their children are protected against those who have a particular agenda until they get old enough to make decisions for themselves.

That thing, 'You must stay together for the kids', is out of fashion but is right. It's not arguing parents that children don't like, it is having one parent.

A good proportion of foreign nationals in jobs in the UK are in semi or low-skilled occupations.

After years of piecemeal reform the current welfare system is complex and unfair.

Aspiration, it seems, is in danger of becoming the preserve of the wealthy.

Balance is if you try hard, you work hard then the rewards are in balance with what you put in and what is available.

Can there not be a limit to the fact that really you need to cut your cloth in accordance with what capabilities and finances you have?

I think almost every political leader is always told that the next speech they make is the most crucial one.

I went up to the top of the career ladder and I came down again, I am past all that.

Kids are meant to believe that their stepping stone to massive money is 'The X Factor.'

My personal view is always I'm in favour of anything that gives parliament a greater say. That's after all what we were elected for.

No one out there is interested in who did what to whom in Westminster politics.

Over the years the political establishment has frowned if a mainstream politician mentions marriage.

People work hard.