Ken Livingstone Quotes

I was a weedy kid, not like one of those working-class men who can accommodate not being academically clever by physical strength and prowess.

- Ken Livingstone

Strength, Working-Class, Academically

I'm never going to take the view that I should say whatever I need to say in order to achieve something. Because that implies a level of dishonesty.

- Ken Livingstone

Need, Level, Going, Dishonesty

Polling in a general election is pretty accurate, because turnout is usually high.

- Ken Livingstone

Pretty, High, General, Turnout

I would like to sound like James Mason. I reckon if I'd had a better voice I could have been prime minister. It is the most irritating voice in public life.

- Ken Livingstone

Voice, Been, Prime, Public Life

I've always told the truth. I've often been wrong - but I've never knowingly lied. Not in public life. Because I don't see the need to.

- Ken Livingstone

Need, Always, Been, Public Life

I Kenneth Robert Livingstone, having been elected to the office of mayor of London, declare that I take that office upon myself, and will duly and faithfully fulfil the duties of it to the best of my judgement and ability.

- Ken Livingstone

Judgement, Been, Having, Kenneth

The market is a brilliant system for the exchange of goods and services, but it doesn't protect the environment unless it's regulated, it doesn't train your workforce unless it's regulated, and it doesn't give you the long-term investment you want.

- Ken Livingstone

Want, Give, Brilliant, Workforce

Jewish voters are not one homogenous block.

- Ken Livingstone

Jewish, Voters, Block

Anybody who enjoys being in the House of Commons probably needs psychiatric help.

- Ken Livingstone

Help, Needs, Anybody, Psychiatric

I've never declined to do an interview.

- Ken Livingstone

Interview, Never, Declined

Yes, there are lots of individual exceptions. But no one has ever done a study about voting intention without ascertaining that the biggest determining factor is your income and your wealth.

- Ken Livingstone

Wealth, Study, Income, Factor

Short of being prime minister there isn't a better job in British politics than running London.

- Ken Livingstone

Politics, London, Prime, Better Job

I mean I get loads of money, all from different sources. You give it to your accountant. They manage it. But you pay corporation tax. If you're then taking it out and spending it on yourself, you have to pay more.

- Ken Livingstone

Accountant, Give, Sources, Manage

I have no interest in managing my financial affairs.

- Ken Livingstone

Financial, Interest, Affairs

If I was courting the Muslim vote, I wouldn't have put establishing the partnership ceremony at the forefront of my first term, would I? I go all around London advocating lesbian and gay rights.

- Ken Livingstone

London, Muslim, Advocating, Ceremony

I spent the 1960s and 1970s seeking myself - the working-class tradition of self-education.

- Ken Livingstone

Myself, Working-Class, Spent, 1970s

Press TV is one of the few TV channels anywhere in the West that fairly presents the Palestinian case.

- Ken Livingstone

TV, Fairly, Palestinian, Channels

My administration will tackle these issues in consultation with the black communities of London.

- Ken Livingstone

London, Will, Administration, Communities

World wide capitalism kills more people everyday then Hitler did. And he was crazy.

- Ken Livingstone

More, More People, Wide, Everyday

I could not cherish London and not value Jewish London. The contribution of Jews to London is immense - politically, economically, culturally, intellectually, philanthropically, artistically.

- Ken Livingstone

London, Jews, Intellectually, Immense

If voting changed anything, they'd abolish it.

- Ken Livingstone

Voting, Anything, Abolish, Changed

I go all around London advocating lesbian and gay rights.

- Ken Livingstone

London, Rights, Advocating, Lesbian

I never came into life with any favours or privileges.

- Ken Livingstone

Never, Privileges, Came, Favours

Well, I mean, I'm very much a pragmatic person.

- Ken Livingstone

Mean, Person, Very, Pragmatic

I've got people handling the media. I employ at the moment two people. No-one is paying income tax on the money they use to employ people.

- Ken Livingstone

Income, Use, Employ, No-One

The world is run by monsters and you have to deal with them. Some of them run countries, some of them run banks, some of them run news corporations.

- Ken Livingstone

News, Some, Deal, Corporations

I came into politics because I wished to change things. You can't do that by lying to people; you have to educate, and persuade, and carry them with you - and it's often a long haul.

- Ken Livingstone

Change, Politics, Haul, Educate

I'm more interested in politicians who deal with human rights in their own country rather than lecture the rest of the world.

- Ken Livingstone

Rest, Country, Deal, Human Rights

If women had never been given the right to vote, then Labour would have won every election after the war.

- Ken Livingstone

Election, Been, Given, Vote

I loathe and detest all this trivialisation of politics.

- Ken Livingstone

Politics, Loathe, Detest

I think it's much more important to keep people in work than have pay rises.

- Ken Livingstone

Think, More, I Think, Rises

Every budget I have ever prepared has been balanced.

- Ken Livingstone

Prepared, Been, Ever, Budget

When I was leader of the GLC, by the time I had been in control for three years, the difference in pay between the cleaner and the director general was a four-to-one ratio. I find that attractive.

- Ken Livingstone

Leader, Been, By The Time, Cleaner

I am a socialist, a believer in rational thought and the rule of law.

- Ken Livingstone

I Am, Law, Socialist, Rational

I actually think the civil service, who are the malignancy at the heart of public life, have consciously prevented, talked ministers out of, made it difficult regulatory-wise, to allow more pressure on alternative energy sources to grow.

- Ken Livingstone

Allow, Sources, Public Life, Energy

The truth is, no one pays more tax than they have to.

- Ken Livingstone

Truth, More, Than, Pays

Thatcher was prepared to destroy the world rather than give in on something she believed in.

- Ken Livingstone

World, She, Give, Believed

Working with the Jewish community is essential to me and what I stand for.

- Ken Livingstone

Me, Jewish, Jewish Community, Essential

Most people are not shocked that I am occasionally rude to journalists. They are probably amazed I don't punch one in the face.

- Ken Livingstone

People, Journalists, Am, Occasionally

I'm an emotional person; I do occasionally shed a tear.

- Ken Livingstone

Person, Shed, Tear, Occasionally

Politics is not a healthy lifestyle.

- Ken Livingstone

Politics, Healthy, Lifestyle, Healthy Lifestyle

The people I really most admire are Robert Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt. If you know someone, it is very hard to revere them.

- Ken Livingstone

Admire, Very, Roosevelt, Franklin

Global warming could be solved by shifting three to four per cent of global GDP to pay for it.

- Ken Livingstone

Four, Could, GDP, Per

The best way to demonstrate the values of a western democracy is you put Osama bin Laden on trial; you challenge what he says.

- Ken Livingstone

Values, Best Way, Bin, Demonstrate

I have met the people who run the world, and I am not in awe of them.

- Ken Livingstone

I Am, World, Run, Awe

I think I have gone through my entire public career never telling a lie. I have made mistakes but I never knowingly lied.

- Ken Livingstone

Think, Through, Telling, Lied

I have only ever borrowed money for investment. I have been sound money all my life.

- Ken Livingstone

My Life, Sound, Been, All My Life

I've always been a workaholic. I reckon, on average, I've had less than one day a year off in my working career.

- Ken Livingstone

Average, Always, Been, Workaholic

I don't work hard enough. If I had worked harder I might have been prime minister.

- Ken Livingstone

Work Hard, Been, Prime, Harder

I think democracy's undermined when those who own newspapers fill them with trivia rather than real issues.

- Ken Livingstone

Think, I Think, Undermined, Trivia

The press keep asking me, 'What was your biggest mistake?' But if I had made a big mistake, they'd all be writing about it, wouldn't they?

- Ken Livingstone

Mistake, Big, Asking, Press

Give me the whole world to run and then I'll be happy. If tomorrow I was told I had to sort out the whole world's problems I'd sleep like a baby.

- Ken Livingstone

Happy, Give, Like, Give Me

The civil service are risk averse.

- Ken Livingstone

Service, Civil, Averse, Civil Service

I undertake that, in the exercise of my functions of that office I will have regard to any guidance with respect to ethical standards issued by the secretary of state under Section 66 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999.

- Ken Livingstone

London, Will, Functions, Ethical

My political beliefs are my moral, quasi-religious framework.

- Ken Livingstone

Political Beliefs, Beliefs, Framework

I swim three times a week.

- Ken Livingstone

Week, Three, Times, Swim

What do we do about climate change bearing down upon us?

- Ken Livingstone

Change, About, Bearing, Climate Change

I employed my wife for three years to sit in the attic and type up my autobiography, 700 pages, organise everywhere I go. I'm paying the normal rate of tax on the money I take out for myself.

- Ken Livingstone

Three, Years, Type, Autobiography

I would like all newspapers to become workers' co-operatives.

- Ken Livingstone

Like, Would, Newspapers, Workers

I'm in exactly the same position as everybody else who has a small business.

- Ken Livingstone

Small, Same, Everybody, Everybody Else

I liked it when we had ugly politicians who droned on about issues.

- Ken Livingstone

Ugly, About, Had, Politicians

Most politicians aren't allowed to express themselves any more.

- Ken Livingstone

More, Most, Allowed, Politicians

When I'm sifting the compost seed or pruning, I argue over issues in my head; I talk to myself.

- Ken Livingstone

Myself, Seed, Over, Pruning

I have opened newspapers and read incredible lies.

- Ken Livingstone

Incredible, Lies, Read, Newspapers

All the politics of the post-war period was about the clash between the Soviet Union and America, and virtually all issues ended up being subordinated to that. Now, the question is, what is the most a socialist can achieve in a global economy?

- Ken Livingstone

Politics, Soviet Union, Clash

I can easily lose myself emotionally in absolute Hollywood garbage.

- Ken Livingstone

Lose, Hollywood, Absolute, Emotionally

There isn't much about my life that's been particularly conventional.

- Ken Livingstone

My Life, Been, Particularly, Conventional

I do explicitly see Jewish people as a people - not either a religion or an ethnicity but a people.

- Ken Livingstone

See, Either, Jewish People, Explicitly

I refuse not to have a sense of humour.

- Ken Livingstone

Sense, Refuse, Humour

This life is messy.

- Ken Livingstone

Life, Messy

I grew up in Lambeth, I went to normal schools and I've grown up in a city where people say what they think.

- Ken Livingstone

City, Think, Normal, Schools

Psephology isn't a hate crime.

- Ken Livingstone

Hate, Crime

The whole culture of my background was deeply Conservative.

- Ken Livingstone

Culture, Conservative, Whole, Background

My only regret is the media's obsession with the past.

- Ken Livingstone

Regret, Past, Only, Obsession

If you are running a city you must focus on day-to-day problems.

- Ken Livingstone

Focus, City, Running, Day-To-Day

I can't understand why anyone would want to live the life of a politician if you can't say pretty much what you think. You are not in it for the money: there's unremitting pressure on your life, you give up so much of your privacy. It can only be because of the things you want to do and the things you want to say.

- Ken Livingstone

Privacy, Why, Your, Politician

Most people wouldn't want to marry a politician.

- Ken Livingstone

Want, Marry, Most, Politician

You lose power in Britain and you are just Joe Public again.

- Ken Livingstone

Lose, Joe, Public, Britain

My main income is from speaking.

- Ken Livingstone

Income, Main, Speaking

I am not against Israel, I am against Zionists.

- Ken Livingstone

I Am, Against, Am, Israel

There needs to be radical development in equality law to create the environment to allow women to stay in work.

- Ken Livingstone

Development, Needs, Allow, Radical

I became a councillor back in 1971, so if by this stage in politics I'm making lots of big mistakes, then I shouldn't be here.

- Ken Livingstone

Politics, Here, Became, Lots

I can only admire people who I have never met and are dead - because you know so much about anyone who is alive.

- Ken Livingstone

Dead, Alive, About, Admire

Most kids don't get to go their parents' wedding.

- Ken Livingstone

Go, Get, Most, Wedding

I do the gardening.

- Ken Livingstone

Gardening

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Powerful Ken Livingstone for Daily Growth