Quotes by Iain Duncan Smith

About Iain Duncan Smith:

George Iain Duncan Smith is a British Conservative Party politician. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since 2010, he was previously the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was first elected to Parliament in 1992 as the MP for Chingford, and he has represented its successor constituency of Chingford and Woodford Green since 1997.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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.

Iain Duncan Smith

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.

Iain Duncan Smith

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.

Iain Duncan Smith

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.

Iain Duncan Smith

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 c...

Iain Duncan Smith

By measuring the proportion of children living with the same parents from birth and whether their parents report a good quality relationship we are driving home the message that social programmes should promote family stability and avert breakdown.

Iain Duncan Smith

Getting a family into work, supporting strong relationships, getting parents off drugs and out of debt - all this can do more for a child's well-being than any amount of money in out-of-work benefits.

Iain Duncan Smith

The financial costs of family breakdown are incredibly high.

Iain Duncan Smith

I do not believe the picture that some people paint of Scottish towns dependent on welfare. Every time I come here, I meet people who are determined to get into work. Who, with the right help are desperate to get off benefits, support their family an...

Iain Duncan Smith

Government cannot do it all. As we work hard to break welfare dependency and get young people ready for the labour market, we need businesses to give them a chance and not just fall back on labour from abroad.

Iain Duncan Smith

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.

Iain Duncan Smith

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

Iain Duncan Smith

Kids are meant to believe that their stepping stone to massive money is 'The X Factor.' Luck is great, but most of life is hard work. We do not celebrate people who have made success out of serious hard work.

Iain Duncan Smith

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

Iain Duncan Smith

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.'

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.

Iain Duncan Smith

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 abou...

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.

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.

Iain Duncan Smith

Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man.

Iain Duncan Smith

Author Bio

  • NameIain Duncan Smith
  • DescriptionBritish politician
  • BornApril 9, 1954
  • CountryUnited Kingdom
  • ProfessionPolitician