Quotes from Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis

In Germany, apprentices undergo a final examination in the vocational school and an oral examination and practical test in the workplace. The same should happen in Britain.

Labour is the party of the NHS and the environment and fighting for better workplace and civic rights for working men and women.

I am an electoral reformer and an ex-Lib Dem.

Multinational companies exploit national differences to abuse their workers, to dodge their taxes and to 'regulation shop' as a means to avoid meeting their responsibilities.

I want a European future where we extend and reinforce peace and prosperity to the east, a future where workers are better protected and inequalities reduced, where our energy and lifestyles are clean and green, where democracy is enhanced, where taxes are paid and corporations play by fair rules.

Until the late 1950s Britain's leaders were slow to appreciate the social and economic value of motorways. The first stretch of German Autobahn had opened before the first world war, as did the first highway in the U.S. Other countries followed suit in the inter-war years.

From the ruins of the second world war, Labour rebuilt Britain and set it on course for European co-operation and membership of the E.U.

Clement Attlee, the man who led us out of the rubble of the Second World War and into a more modern, egalitarian Britain, is one of this country's greatest Prime Ministers. One major reason for this is that he was better able to recognise the wants and needs of the British people than some of his more polished political contemporaries.

I joined the SDP as a founder member a few days after my 18th birthday in 1981. I was a councillor, activist and parliamentary candidate for the SDP and its successor party, the Liberal Democrats, for 14 years before joining Labour when Tony Blair became leader and abolished Labour's old clause IV - committing to general nationalisation - in 1995.

Austerity and Brexit are two sides of the same coin, like the Brexit party and the Tories.

Despite my deep misgivings about austerity and the harm it would do, I agreed to chair the national infrastructure commission under a Tory government, because I believed that delivering infrastructure investment could help build a brighter future for businesses and families. I am a pragmatist. I do what works.

The motorway network helps bind Britain together. It remains an extraordinary achievement, making a huge contribution to our economy and our way of life.

I don't answer deeply hypothetical questions.

By managing the speed of traffic and opening the hard shoulder as a new running lane in times of congestion, the M42 pilot showed that it is possible to smooth traffic flow and improve journey reliability safely on a seriously congested route. And it has proved popular with drivers whose motoring experience has improved.

Nobody knows the tragedy of a small island divided against itself better than a Cypriot.

The reason why I'm so passionate about turning around failing schools is that children who have the misfortune to go to unsucccessful institutions are far less likely to come across the individuals who can transform their lives.

What is clear to me is that social media is a skill and you have to keep working at it. But it hasn't taken over my life. I think I use it, it doesn't use me.

Parents who've not had an education themselves find it hard to explain to their children what a decent education involves, and I completely understand that. Parents themselves need to be educated by schools about what sort of education they should expect for their children. I do think there's a heavy responsibility of the school.

For me, no one aspect of the Brexit debate displays so markedly the monomania of many Brexiteers as does the Irish question.

Developing survival skills in life is incredibly important and I was very lucky that I developed them at a very young age.

As a Londoner who delights in the capital's dynamism and diversity, I none the less agree with Ken Livingstone that London hosts too great a share of our national institutions. Where sensible, more should be located in other cities, particularly new or reformed institutions that involve new facilities.

I'm prepared to argue with some of my Labour colleagues about doing what it takes to see that every school has the governance needed to succeed.

The SDP's founder, Roy Jenkins, was my hero and later mentor.

When I was a minister I only went on about things I was going to make happen. I very rarely talked about things I wasn't.