MPs are the key legislators of the British Parliament. They make laws that affect the people of the UK. MPs can be found in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. MPs are elected by constituents, and serve for a fixed term.
MPs are always making powerful statements and using their power to help their constituents. Some of the most famous quotes from MPs include “I am not a pacifist,” “I believe in democracy,” and “I think that the British people are the best in the world.
MPs are some of the most powerful voices in British Politics. They are able to influence decisions that affect the people of their constituency, and can also speak out on important issues. Here are five quotes from MPs that show how powerful they are:
MP Quotes
“I think the Parliament is the best place in the world to have a discussion about things.”
“The Parliament is not a rubber stamp for the Prime Minister.”
“As an MP, you can only stand up in the chamber and say what you like. If you want to be robust and robustly partisan, your performance is pretty good.” — Richard Ottaway
“Being an MP is like playing a fool on a stage every day.” — Charles Clarke
“Being an MP is like being assigned to the worst room in a hotel.” — Norman Baker
“Being an MP is like being locked up in Westminster Prison, but with no bedbugs and no chance of going out on work release. Well, not until you’re about 90.” — Richard Littlejohn
“Being an MP is like being paid to have a bad time.” — Alan Duncan
“The problem with being an MP is that you have no real power, but you can still get into trouble. The only difference between us and civil servants is that we don’t get pensions.” — Peter Hain
“Being an MP is like having a goldfish bowl for a job. Everyone looks in at me, no one looks at my constituents who are what matters to me. When I’m in the House of Commons, it’s like walking on stage and doing a monologue every day.” — Norman Baker
“Being an MP is like being commissioned into the Salvation Army. You are given authority and then expected to be exemplary.” — David Blunkett
“I hate being a politician. I detest it. I wish I did not have to do it. If there was any way of getting out of it, I would leap at it and run away from the rest of my life, my family and everything else.” — Simon Hughes
“Sovereignty rests with me as an English MP and that’s the way it will stay.” — Tony Blair
“Maybe I was naive, but I thought the whole point of being an MP was to scrutinise legislation and improve it.” —Sarah Wollaston
“All MP are basically self-employed. We do not get the security of a regular wage and a regular work contract.”— John Burn -Murdoch Prospective MP
“The workers and MPs are more different than they are similar.”— John Burn -Murdoch Prospect
“The difference between MPs and workers is that they represent their employers while workers represent their members.”— John Burn -Murdoch Prospect
“Being an MP is like standing on the side of a bus when it goes round a corner and never knowing which way you are going to be pushed.” — Alan Johnson
“Being an MP is like having to pretend to be bald, with a large toupee on your head. It’s only when they take it off that you see how long and full your hair is. I can’t really complain, though. I’ve been a bald MP for nearly 20 years.” — Jeremy Corbyn
“The problem with being an MP is that you have to listen. You cannot stand up and say, ‘I don’t agree with what you are saying and I do not believe it will work.’ You take it or leave it.” — Andrew Tyrie
“To those who live idly [are idle], an MP has the same function as a postman, but is paid more money. The function of an MP is to act as a postman. When I was an MP I had to fulfil that function for my constituents.” — Michael Foot
“The only thing worse than being a politician is not being a politician.” — David Cameron
“The quality of an MP’s job is dictated by the creation of new opportunities for making money. The more rubbish legislation people produce, the more money you make. The more work that people do, the less opportunity there is for making money as an MP.
“There is silliness in the system. I have been criticised for being rude. I have even been attacked for saying that my constituents thought that it was all a waste of time.” — Andrew Rosindell
“MPs are treated like kings. We get to spend our lives in pursuit of profits and experiences which most people can only dream about.” — Paul Burstow
“To become a member of Parliament is one of the quickest ways to lose your opinions and principles.” — George Bernard Shaw
“The House of Commons swarms with snobs and social climbers, who would be nowhere but in politics. But by his energy and determination the backbencher can overcome all obstacles, can even become Prime Minister.” — Harold Nicolson
“I want to go to Parliament because I want to make a difference. And if I can’t do that, what’s the point?” — Catherine McKinnell
“Most MPs feel that we’re only about 15 minutes away from being required to wear helmets and knee pads when we appear in the chamber. The novelty soon wears off, and the hours begin to take their toll.” — Ann Perkins
“If an MP enters the House of Commons on his own volition, it should be accepted that he has committed no criminal offence.” — Lord Phillips
“I’ve known an MP or two who have really cared about their voters. I don’t think most do.” — Sir Gerald Kaufman
“MPs are obliged to do something for their constituents, and the obligation is much more crucial than the privilege.” — Sir Gerald Kaufman
“MPs don’t have any control over their constituencies or their constituents. They just exist to serve their constituents and that’s it. They have to be on their team. They have to constantly justify everything they do.” — Sir Gerald Kaufman
“MPs are not paid to represent the interests of their constituents. They’re paid to represent their former constituents and their current party’s interests.” — Sir Gerald Kaufman
“There’s only one correct answer to the question, ‘Why do you want to be an MP?’ and it’s, ‘Gerald Kaufman said so’. If he says no, you don’t.” — Sir Gerald Kaufman
“MPs cannot seriously pretend to teach the public any useful skill while they are bound by a code of honour that forbids them to eat in restaurants where there is not at least one Indian.” — Sir Gerald Kaufman
“MPs do something genuinely useful, because they keep the government in power. Without MPs, the government couldn’t do anything. The government couldn’t even make new laws.” — Sir Gerald Kaufman
“MP is like journalists in one important respect: they both rise to their feet to ask questions and then sit down again without ever getting an answer.” — Boris Johnson
“MP is not elected to represent their constituents. They elected to represent their party, irrespective of just how stupid or bigoted some of their constituents are. The constituents don’t Westminster. Westminster Westminster.” — Boris Johnson
“He is the honourable member for Baghdad Central.” — Boris Johnson
“You can tell he’s a London MP because he’s actually been to London.” — Boris Johnson
“MPs are like a fleet of cheap taxis, collecting people from all over England and ferrying them to their permanent homes in London.” — Norman Tebbit
“MPs are not free of political prejudices. They are free of the prejudices of their party. But there is no such thing as a free ride in politics.” — Norman Tebbit
“The House of Commons is like an extended dinner party for MPs. Those who can’t get a table are shut out, because they don’t pay their bills.” — Enoch Powell
“Listening to the junior ministers and MPs, you would think that we were all doing hard time in jail or of being executed. In truth, no one is being sent to jail, or executed; but there are rules which must be obeyed and standards of behaviour which must be observed.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs aren’t really representatives of their constituents. They’re just passing through. Their constituents are the voters.” — Enoch Powell
“The Commons is a grand old lady who has known an awful lot of men, all now dead, who have sat on her lavatory, smoked her fag-ends and left their marks upon the walls.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs don’t fall out with other MPs because they’re mad, but because they start to feel that all MPs are mad.” — Enoch Powell
Mps Quote
“MPs do not bring anything to Parliament except a certain amount of external pressure. MPs don’t decide anything.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs are like a lot of children in the back of a car. They’re squabbling and fighting, but the car takes them home.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs are not there to represent their constituents, but to represent the interests of the government.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs aren’t in Parliament for honour or glory. They’re there because they think that it’s a worthwhile thing to do. They haven’t got anything else to do, so why not let them do that?” — Enoch Powell
“At the end of the day, all MPs are interested in is themselves, either in politics or in some other way. They might be interested in people; but this isn’t on the agenda.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs don’t get involved with the real world merely because they are MPs. They’re not pastoralists.” — Enoch Powell
“There’s no point being an MP unless you’ve got some power. At least you’ve got a title and a bit of status. And if you’re not really involved – and that’s a very important point – then it’s not worth doing. It’s like the old days when your father or mother was a shopkeeper, and you never worked in the shop.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs are not popular. You can’t imagine what it would be like to be their constituents.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs don’t decide anything. They’re too busy trying to get re-elected.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs are not in the House of Commons to represent their constituents, they’re there to make sure that they don’t. If you say anything that’s likely to upset your constituents or make them unhappy or disagree with them, you get thrown out.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs don’t really know what’s going on in other constituencies, especially if it involves something which is controversial. They can’t tear themselves away from their constituency for long enough to do this.” — Enoch Powell
“The House of Commons has no more power than the Emperor of China. The Commons has no more power than King David had in Jerusalem.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs will never represent their constituents. MPs are only there to represent the government. No government can do without MPs.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs are caught between two fires: the voters who elect them and the electorate who voted for a different MP. MPs are only there to represent the voters who voted for them, not the voters who didn’t.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs are a necessary evil. If they didn’t exist, people would have to invent them. They’re there just to stop people talking.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs aren’t really interested in politics. MPs are only interested in hard work and effort, which is why they choose politics as a career choice. MPs are only interested in hard work and effort. MPs are not interested in making money.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs have nothing to do with Parliament, because Parliament doesn’t really exist. It’s just a building where people go to make speeches.” — Enoch Powell
“Some people like an MP so much, they don’t mind him coming back six times. They never get bored with him. So if an MP is coming back six times and the voters want him, it’s up to them.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs have been examined and elected by the people. Therefore, MPs have a moral obligation to go along with what their constituents want rather than impose their own will on them.” — Enoch Powell
“The House of Commons should be filled with wise men and women, but instead it is filled with 500 wiseasses who have been elected by about six million people. It is a disgrace.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs are not supposed to make laws, but are there to represent the will of the people.” — Enoch Powell
“In the House of Commons we have an unchecked power, but with an unchecked power come great responsibilities.” — Enoch Powell
Parliamentary Quotes
“A true parliament is one where the people elect the members of parliament and those members do not govern. That is an English parliament.” — Enoch Powell
“The House of Commons is a grand old lady who has known an awful lot of men, all now dead, who have sat on her lavatory, smoked her fag-ends and left their marks upon the walls. Those are the ones that made history.” — Enoch Powell
“Parliament is not a rat hole as some people would have us believe. Parliament is the continuity of the nation.” — Enoch Powell
“In Parliament, you never know who is your friend and who is your enemy. You must not know. If you know, it is dangerous.” — Enoch Powell
“Parliament may be inconvenient and slow, but it’s the only place that people are able to air their views in public without the risk of being shot down.” — John Major
“Parliamentary democracy means that Parliament should be supreme. Parliament should not be subservient to government. Parliament should not be subservient to a Party. Parliament should not be subservient to the wishes of the electorate.” — John Major
“MPs are not here to make laws, but to carry out the wishes of their constituents.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs can do what they like for their own time in Parliament, but not for their own constituents.” — Enoch Powell
“The House of Commons represents the entire country.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs were there in Agincourt and Waterloo. They’re not there to protect us from criminals or make sure we get our fair share of the British Empire. They’re there to defend us from our enemies at home. They’re there to defend us from ourselves.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs do not vote on the decisions of the press. They vote on the decisions of their constituents.” — Enoch Powell
“MPs don’t pass legislation. MPs don’t amend legislation, unless asked to do so by their constituents.” — Enoch Powell
“Parliament is a great invention. It’s the most powerful machine for stabilising society that the world has ever seen. It’s a wonderful system for reassuring everybody that, after all, the government is not out of control by a long way.” — Enoch Powell
The last word: There is no such thing as public opinion. There are individual opinions. To “publish” an opinion is just to add one to the number of people who hold that opinion.” — Brendan Behan— Brendan Behan (1923–1987)
“I am interested in progress and improvement. I don’t care how it is brought about. If a black man’s work benefits all his fellow beings, I am happy with it. I don’t care what color he is. And I don’t care what colour his skin is.” — Enoch Powell
“In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman.” — Margaret Thatcher, 1981
“A budget isn’t an economic plan. It’s an arithmetic exercise.” — Nigel Lawson
“An electric fan in the Treasury is worth more than an extra secretary.” — Nigel Lawson
“Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be Prime Minister. Some people are born Prime Minister. Others have the privilege thrust upon them.” — Margaret Thatcher
“The best predictor of future success is past failure.” — Margaret Thatcher
“The lady’s not for turning.” — Margaret Thatcher (a reference to “The road to Wigan Pier” by George Orwell)
“I don’t mind how much my ministers talk, as long as they do what I say.” — Margaret Thatcher