David Willetts Quotations

The prime minister will feel uncomfortable about the sound of daggers being sharpened around him. We in this party are happy to praise the Education Bill, not to bury it.

Now the secretary of state comes to the house to say that she will legislate but she hasn't said she will legislate for a single list.

If this bill has some steps that improve the quality of education, however modest, we would still back it.

Parents' confidence in Ruth Kelly's ability to maintain the integrity of the staff working in schools is ebbing away.

My challenge as university minister is about getting right balance of teaching and research.

Looking at scientific inquiry, next paradigm will be based on very large datasets. Scientists are in the lead in handling very large datasets - Hubble telescope or Large Hadron Collider are massive datasets.

Roger Scruton is one of our great men of speculation

The DSA scheme has not been reviewed for 25 years

We do not believe in quotas. They would not only be undesirable, they would be illegal. There is legal protection for the autonomy of universities in running their own admission arrangements.

We think that is a good practical way of raising the quality of education.

What I want her to do is answer the basic factual questions then in the light of that we can review the position she's in.

Either Ruth Kelly does not know how many sex offenders have been cleared to work in our schools, in which case she should tell anxious parents now. Or she does not know, in which case her department is shockingly incompetent.

Either Ruth Kelly does know how many sex offenders have been cleared to work in our schools, in which case she should tell anxious parents now. Or she does not know, in which case her department is shockingly incompetent.

Promising to act urgently in 2004, announcing a new system 20 months later and finally having it up and running in 2010 is just not good enough and will not calm the fears of many parents.

This is a timid step in the right direction. This bill would have been better if it had been bolder.