I believe in trying to get a balance between individual freedom on the one hand and social responsibility on the other. – Chris Patten
I think that if politics is just about getting your backside on important seats, then it’s a pretty worthless endeavor. – Chris Patten
I suppose I’ve always carried what is regarded as a bit of unnecessary baggage in Britain. I’ve always carried the charge that I am an intellectual in politics. – Chris Patten
It is a sort of great Victorian truth that actually, trying to do the right thing is pretty good for you and pretty good for business as well, by and large. – Chris Patten
Green politics at its worst amounts to a sort of Zen fascism; less extreme, it denounces growth and seeks to stop the world so that we can all get off. – Chris Patten
Undoubtedly, at the moment, the major cause of CO2 emission is what happens in developed countries. – Chris Patten
It is almost always wrong that the time isn’t ripe to decide something. That is always said of difficult problems. – Chris Patten
I think that what most surprises anybody who goes into politics from even a modestly cerebral background is the vulgarity of much of the cut and thrust of politics. – Chris Patten
I don’t think that capitalism should be unbridled, if by ‘unbridled’ you mean unregulated. – Chris Patten
But the ability to articulate what you are doing, to be clear about it, and to stick to it is, I think, the essence of political leadership. – Chris Patten
So, what I say to people is that politics has got to be about principle and values above all. Of course, there are times when you have to make accommodations. – Chris Patten
