Andrew Neil

Journalist

1949-05-21

Quotes by Andrew Neil

• Well, we all make mistakes, and I've made some; getting involved in a price-cutting campaign in Scotland when the biggest slump in advertising history was just around the corner was a mistake.

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• Class and the snobbery it provokes still matter far too much in Britain, but we are a far more mobile society than we used to be.

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• There's even less to do in Umea at Christmas than there is in Stockholm.

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• The sucking sound of capital being pulled out of Europe and into East Asia is almost deafening.

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• I recently passed through Mumbai airport. I cannot claim it was a pleasant experience. But if I had a choice between Mumbai airport and Euston on a Sunday afternoon, I'd take Mumbai any day.

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• There's a substantial difference between dumping 100 copies of the 'Telegraph' at a Connex South Central station and giving away copies of the 'Business' with the 'Mail on Sunday.' 'This kind of circulation is valuable and enhances the brand. Leaving them anywhere willy-nilly devalues the brand.

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• I made it clear when the Barclays took over the 'Telegraph' that I wanted no editorial position there. There is no way I could take a high-level editorial position at the papers. I have my work for the BBC, and that would be compromised if I did.

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• Journalists always want publishers or editors to leave. They're creative troublemakers - that's why you hire them.

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• The old Establishment has always preserved its position by not being too exclusive - it has been wily enough to absorb the up-and-coming and convert them to their attitudes and mannerisms.

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• Most children of the underclass are born out of wedlock; relationships are fleeting and unstable (which ensures that what is born into the underclass stays in the underclass). This is a world in which there are almost no worthwhile male role models, which is a disaster when boys turn to youths.

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• The English are a tolerant bunch and, outside elements of the London elite, never much minded the rise of the Scottish Raj: after all, we were British, well-educated, reasonably cultivated and spoke with clear, classless accents.

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• As class barriers tumbled and Britain became a more meritocratic society, young, well-educated Scots were best placed to exploit the new social mobility.

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• I don't think the standard of our politicians is very high. And when you get good ones, world-class ones, like a Blair or a Brown or a Thatcher, then they do stand out - they are head and shoulders above everybody else.

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