Tony Banks

People of principle make a refreshing change to our media-driven world, and I love a politician who speaks his mind. Like Tony Banks who died yesterday. He was one of a small breed of British politicians who used sound-bite politics not to feed us superficial crap but to keep everyone's feet on the floor. He had the guts to go against the flow - a Labour politician who was a friend of Tory David Mellor just because he liked him - and speak his mind with a candour which disarmed high-and-mighty opponents.

Here's a few of his witty remarks. Let's keep the fire burning.