You know, you only get to live life once, so there are two things that that yields. One is that there’s no point in crying over spilt milk, but secondly you hate wasting time, energy, and whatever talent you’ve got. – David Miliband
I abhor anything that constitutes torture. Water-boarding, it’s perfectly clear to me it is torture. I never supported extraordinary rendition to torture, always said that Guantanamo should be closed. There is no clash of ideals and pragmatism there. – David Miliband
The big risk to British lives in 2013 is in Afghanistan. Our troops, diplomats and aid workers have made a big contribution there. But while there is an end date for Western engagement, 2014, there isn’t a proper end game. – David Miliband
I think the wonderment of seeing my two sons developing makes me incredibly optimistic about human potential. It makes you think: ‘My goodness. It’s a miracle that’s going on here. What could the human race do together?’ – David Miliband
You have to believe that it’s through politics that societies can lead social and economic and political change. – David Miliband
The 1970s – I was ten in 1975 – were a bad decade in all sorts of ways but the middle class had comfortable assumptions about the prospects for its children. The middle class was smaller then; it was a much less competitive Britain, less meritocratic. – David Miliband
One thing that I feel very, very strongly is that we talk about Islamic countries, Islamic people, Islamic leaders, as either moderates or extremists. It’s almost like there are only two categories of Muslims. And actually, that doesn’t show respect. It shows lack of understanding of the diversity of Muslim thought. – David Miliband
The biggest opportunity in 2013 is in Africa. It has seven out of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world. In Nigeria alone there are 100 million people with mobile phones. In total, 300 million Africans – five times the population of Britain – are in the middle class. – David Miliband
One of the jewels in the crown of Labour’s time in office was the rescue of the National Health Service. As the Commonwealth Fund, the London School of Economics and the Nuffield Foundation have all shown, health reforms as well as additional investment were essential to improved outcomes, especially for poorer patients. – David Miliband
The biggest novelty of 2013 will be new leadership in China. Very little is known about the views of the new leaders – who will rule the country for ten years. But we do know they’re the first generation of Chinese leaders who have spent the majority of their lives in a China ‘opening up’ to the rest of the world. – David Miliband
If you want to fight against a declining trend, you’ve got to have a much bigger bazooka. – David Miliband
I’ve committed myself to serve my constituents in South Shields and I have committed myself to British politics. – David Miliband
The real danger to Britain is a foreign policy that is isolationist in Europe and therefore weak in the rest of the world. – David Miliband
I was always brought up that if you can make a difference, you should, and if you don’t it’s a waste. So we’ll see if I can make a difference. – David Miliband
The test of leadership for David Cameron was actually to bring the British Conservative Party back in to the mainstream. – David Miliband
I do not speak Hebrew, but I understand that it has no word for ‘history.’ The closest word for it is memory. – David Miliband
My favourite poem is called ‘Roots and Wings’ – it’s a very moving poem about how if you’ve got real roots you can fly. – David Miliband
I mean, Britain is a country of successful Muslim businesspeople, teachers and educators, journalists. So, we have to say very strongly that the two million plus Muslims in Britain, the vast bulk of them make a huge contribution to our society, and they actually make it the vibrant society it is. – David Miliband
Israelis and Palestinians are suspicious of each other and of promises from outside. But the need for a negotiated solution between the parties should not stymie international clarity and consensus about the endgame in terms of borders and other issues. – David Miliband
My memories are of my dad taking me to football on Saturday mornings, and my mum taking me swimming. Those are the things I remember from my childhood, not sitting around the table debating capitalism and the profit squeeze. – David Miliband
The two biggest threats to international security in 2013 are Iran getting a nuclear weapon, and Iran being bombed to stop it getting a nuclear weapon. Both would precipitate a long and dangerous conflict in an already unstable Middle East. Both would be a disaster. – David Miliband
The whole of government needs to contribute to the shared goal of restructuring the British economy. But that means taking on the myth that the Treasury either knows best or can run it all. It just doesn’t. – David Miliband
The wedding ring on my left hand was bought by my grandfather, Samuel Miliband, in Brussels in 1920. I never knew him, as he died when I was one. But his ring was kept by my aunt until it was placed on my finger by my wife Louise 32 years later. – David Miliband
