Iain Duncan Smith quotes

Iain Duncan Smith is a British politician and former leader of the Conservative Party. Known for his work on welfare reform and social justice issues, he served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. He has been an influential figure in shaping modern Conservative policy. Here are 58 of his quotes:

Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man. (Iain Duncan Smith)
In Birmingham, Manchester or Liverpool there are white gangs that share the same backgrounds - they come from broken homes, completely dysfunctional, mums for the most part unable to cope, the fathers of these kids completely not in the scene. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
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. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
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. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
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. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
If Britain is to have a stable, affordable pension system, people need to work longer, but we will reward their hard work with a decent state pension that will enable them to enjoy quality of life in their retirement. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
If you look at the footballers, you look at our celebrity culture, we seem to be saying, 'This is the way you want to be'. We seem to be a society that celebrates all the wrong people. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
The public thinks that homelessness is about not having any accommodation to go to. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
In many ways Scotland will benefit more than other parts of the UK when universal credit comes in. A larger percentage of people will see an increase in their income through moving into work or taking on more hours. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
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. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
I hate this argument that says little Britain or something outside, or Britain is part of a wider Europe. We can both be within our trading relationships within Europe but we can also be a fantastic global trader. (Iain Duncan Smith)
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. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
The financial costs of family breakdown are incredibly high. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
Over the years the political establishment has frowned if a mainstream politician mentions marriage. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
Gang members have invariably grown up in broken, chaotic homes, often experiencing domestic violence; they have truanted from school and many have been formally excluded; and they live in neighbourhoods where worklessness, addiction and crime are rife. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
I went up to the top of the career ladder and I came down again, I am past all that. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
After years of piecemeal reform the current welfare system is complex and unfair. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
I think that the status that you have in life should be reflected in official documents. If you are married, fine, if you are living with someone, fine, if you are single, fine. We don't want to tell people how to live their lives. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
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. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
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. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
It's fairness to say those who work hard, get up in the morning, cut their cloth - in other words 'we can only afford to have one or two children because we don't earn enough'. They pay their taxes and they want to know that the same kind of decision-making is taking place for those on benefits. (Iain Duncan Smith)
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. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
When she gets into negotiations with her European counterparts about trade arrangements, could she remind them that cake exists to be eaten and cherries exist to be picked. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
We have legislated to leave the EU, with or without a deal. That is what people voted for. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith
I said consistently throughout that we need to get control of our borders and the only way to do that is to leave the European Union... Once we do that we are in a much stronger position to achieve that objective of bringing down migration to tens of thousands within this Parliament - I will stand by that. View quote
Iain Duncan Smith