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I'm going to reinvigorate this party and I'm not going to be derailed from it by criticism from armchair generals - William Hague, Conservative leader

Whatever happened to serious political thought? Surely it is not confined to old fogeys and matrons in sensible shoes - Lord Tebbit, Conservative peer

The Tory Parliamentary Party had a collective nervous breakdown. There is no other way of describing it - Kenneth Clarke, ex-chancellor, explaining defeat

I couldn't cope with the fans any more. I felt that their adulation was misplaced. They were spending money on expensive performances when they should have been buying clothes for their backs. It made me uneasy - Dame Joan Sutherland, operatic singer

Step by step Unionists are being conditioned to become accustomed to "Irishness" rather than "Britishness" to prepare them for their intended destination - Peter Robinson, deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party

Half of me is impulsive, half of me is analytical. Part of me is evil, part of me is good. It is a struggle every day. Maybe it's just me - Michael Douglas, actor

Every Government gets unpopular. When they turn on Tony Blair it will be unbelievably vicious. People will be shocked by the ferocity of it - Ken Livingstone, Labour MP