Quotes from David Gauke

But only a candidate who rejects wishful thinking, has the courage to tell the truth about the options in front of us and who will address Brexit on the basis of the hard realities will succeed.

Middle-class commuters in Rickmansworth and Berkhamsted are wondering whether the Conservative party is the party that they have traditionally supported. And they certainly don't want to support a Farage-lite party.

Leaving the European Union is likely to have an impact on the workforce in sectors such as catering, construction and agriculture. I see an opportunity here for both prisoners and employers, particularly those operating in these sectors.

Since 2012, automatic enrolment has brought millions of people into a workplace pension for the first time, thanks to the support of businesses and employees across the UK.

Introducing a social investment tax relief will make investment even more appealing and accessible.

If Northern Ireland is in one customs regime and the Republic of Ireland is in another, why won't a customs border be necessary, just as happens with every other land border of this type?

We should be extremely cautious about continuing to increase sentences as a routine response to concerns over crime.

Our judiciary has a reputation for intellectual rigour, careful consideration of the arguments, and a serious-minded determination to each decision based on what is right and not necessarily what is superficially popular. I am not sure that all politicians have the same reputation.

Rather than recognising the challenges of a fast-changing society require sometimes complex responses, that we live in a world of trade-offs, that easy answers are usually false answers, we have seen the rise of the simplifiers.

Our reforms to criminal record disclosure will benefit ex-offenders, but there will a broader, more significant payoff for everyone in society.

The public, investors and stakeholders now expect higher standards of tax compliance and more transparency from large businesses about the way they approach taxation.

Community interest companies are a growing form of regulated social enterprises, and we want to make sure that the rules are as friendly as possible for investors and social enterprises.

People really don't want Jeremy Corbyn, and they do fear the consequences of a Corbyn government.

Our research shows that nearly 60% of recent offenders who engaged with a community-based alcohol programme did not go on to reoffend in the two years following treatment. Offenders given a community sentence including mental health treatment have also shown to be significantly less likely to reoffend.

Offenders who commit crime in prison have a disruptive and often devastating impact on the prospects of those who are trying to turn their lives around and who see prison as a pivotal turning point in their lives.

A Canada-style deal for the whole of the UK results in a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. For that reason, it has never been acceptable to the EU without a permanent hard border down the Irish Sea.

I want to go further and make the UK the easiest place in the world to invest in social enterprise.

There are tradeoffs between independence and co-operation, between regulatory autonomy and market access. This means that compromises are necessary to deliver a pragmatic Brexit that protects jobs and living standards while respecting the referendum result.

My position was that if the country could unite around a soft Brexit that would be the least worst way through. But it is now very clear that the country is not going to unite around a soft Brexit. There is nobody really advocating a soft Brexit.

People don't like what's happened to the big parties. They think they've been dragged off to the extremes. They think the quality of leadership is below what a country like the United Kingdom ought to have available. And they want something different.

I want the United Kingdom to be the best place in the world in which to grow old. By ensuring that as many as possible have the opportunity to build up a decent private income for later life we will be well on the way to achieving this.

There is one stark fact facing us: three quarters of all crime that results in a caution or sentence happens because of reoffending. We must be fearless in dealing with this.

Boris Johnson was elected on a strategy that went down well with members, but was inevitably going to collide with reality and unravel. And it's happened more quickly than it might have done, for reasons for which he and his team are responsible.

Many offenders have had immensely difficult upbringings and do not have the support of loving families and friends.