My advice is very simple: if you can win a small battle, it gives you confidence in the political process to take on bigger battles, and so it is very much a bottom-up grass-roots way of doing politics.

There is a danger for Britain as we perceive ourselves, or as we are - less wealthy, facing economic austerity - that we essentially draw back. I think there is a recoil in parts of the country, and in parts of the government actually, from the multilateral system, and I think that's dangerous and wrong.

But for me, my personal relations, my personal family relations, are very important, and we've always tried to make sure that the public and the private are kept separate.

David Miliband Quotes