Quotes for All
The ‘Robben Island Bible’ has arrived at the British Museum. It’s a garish thing, its cover plastered with pink and gold Hindu images, designed to hide its contents. Within is the finest collection of words generated by human intelligence: the complete works of William Shakespeare. Daniel Hannan
I am not the Conservative Party’s health care spokesman. I’m fond of Andrew Lansley, and I strongly support David Cameron as party leader. Daniel Hannan
New fathers, political prisoners, traumatised presidential aides, resolute schoolboys, MEPs addressing unfriendly chambers – we all find that Shakespeare has magically anticipated our precise circumstances. How he was possible, I still don’t understand; but there isn’t a day I’m not grateful that he speaks to me in my own language. Daniel Hannan
Political reporters no longer get to decide what’s news. The days when a minister gave briefings to a dozen lobby correspondents, and thereby dictated the next day’s headlines, are over. Now, a thousand bloggers decide for themselves what is interesting. If enough of them are tickled then, bingo, you’re news. Daniel Hannan
Europe tends to favor stability over democracy, America democracy over stability. Daniel Hannan
You cannot carry on forever squeezing the productive bit of the economy in order to fund an unprecedented engorgement of the unproductive bit. Daniel Hannan
The next Euro-elections will be a step towards a United States of Europe Daniel Hannan
The U.S. states that allow for citizens’ initiatives tend to have fewer laws and lower taxes than the ones that don’t. But the beauty of the system is that it encourages the spread of best practice. Daniel Hannan
Most British people are keen to remain in a European free trade zone; and most EU states are keen to keep us there, because we buy from them more than we sell to them to the tune of £40 million per day. Daniel Hannan
If you vote for candidates who think it’s the role of the state to provide health care, don’t complain when your hospitals are as badly run as everything else run by the state. Daniel Hannan