Quotes By William Hague

Those who back the Syrian regime from now on will find themselves in an even more isolated and indefensible minority.

The appalling crackdown that we witnessed in Hama and other Syrian cities on 30 and 31 July only erode the regime's legitimacy and increase resentment. In the absence of an end to the senseless violence and a genuine process of political reform, we will continue to pursue further EU sanctions.

People know that you can't spend more than you have.

You can gain in your effectiveness as a politician from a wide acquaintance with the world and from a degree of independence that having some outside interests gives.

The war in Iraq, clearly has not turned out in the way that was hoped.

When a Cabinet Minister who is sacked for telling lies is re-appointed, in the face of every constitutional convention, only for the same man to be sacked again from the same Cabinet for the same offence by the same Prime Minister no wonder the public are cynical about politics.

Syria should not belong to one family, to one coterie, or to one party. It belongs to all the people of Syria equally, in all their religious and ethnic diversity.

The British retreat is over and now the advance will begin.

People feel that in too many ways the EU is something that is done to them, not something over which they have a say.

It's not too late to stop the Lisbon Treaty.

Very few conflicts in the history of the world have been satisfactorily concluded according to a published timetable, because you lose all flexibility in dealing with your opponents.

The message I take all round the world is Britain is open for business.

The EU is not a country and it's not going to become a country, in my view, now or ever in the future. It is a group of countries working together.

Ambition is best tempered with self-knowledge!

I described the euro as a burning building with no exits and so it has proved for some of the countries in it.

Whatever happens in Mogadishu, in Somalia, will happen in Great Britain. We have interlocking interests.

There is no budget for travel for a Shadow Foreign Secretary.

It must be quite rare for an interviewer to be interviewed.

In my view what you can't argue for is a system that is neither decisive nor proportional and can be indecisive and disproportionate at the same time.

Spending only what the country can afford, rewarding savings, encouraging independence, supporting marriage: people know that these things are common sense.

Unless there is meaningful change in Syria and an end to the crackdown, President Assad and those around him will find themselves isolated internationally and discredited within Syria.

Yes, I've never inherited a penny!

If there's one thing above all that sets me apart from Tony Blair it is this - I am not embarrassed to articulate the instincts of the British people.

At a time of such hope and optimism in the Middle East, we cannot let the Libyan government violate every principle of international law and human rights with impunity.

I have always thought that foreign-policy idealism has to be tempered with realism.

When we have a Deputy Prime Minister who tells people not to drive cars but has two Jags himself, and where the Minister who tells people not to have two homes turns out to have nine himself no wonder the public believe politicians are hypocrites.

I still agree with the invasion of Iraq. I don't agree with most of the decisions that accompanied it.

Iran's continued, widespread persecution of ethnic minorities, human rights defenders and political prisoners is a disgrace and stands as a shameful indictment of Iran's leaders.

There's only one growth strategy: work hard.

We are making progress militarily, there is no doubt about that. You've seen the reports from Misrata, although reports of the Gaddafi forces completely pulling out of Misrata seem to be exaggerated.