Quotes from Andrew Lansley

I was shadow health secretary for six years, and the beauty of being in opposition - if there is any beauty - is that you tend to get a pretty unvarnished view because no one bothers to paint the coal white before you turn up.

We have had significant success in the reduction of salt in food, but it has to be understood that this can only be achieved working with the industry on a voluntary basis... and it can only be done on an incremental basis.

We know, in Wales or in England - you simply can't trust Labour on the NHS. In England, we are delivering for patients while Labour just use the NHS as a political football. We won't let them; we'll always fight for the NHS.

You can't simply slash the sugar in food; otherwise, people simply won't accept it.

We must aim for a zero-tolerance approach to hospital-acquired infections; we have to be clear about who's in charge at ward level, so there's proper accountability, and we need to reduce the reliance on agency nursing staff.

We must not constantly talk about tackling obesity and warning people about the negative consequences of obesity. Instead we must be positive - positive about the fun and benefits to be had from healthy living, trying to get rid of people's excuses for being obese by tackling the issue in a positive way.

If I'm serious about patients and their GPs being able to have more control of their health care, I can't have a top-down system that imposes restrictions on the services they need.

As a Coalition Government, we inherited a legacy of lack of trust and confidence in political system.

I didn't go into politics because I wanted to win a popularity contest.

It is more important to engage the public positively with choice and competition to everyone than to be directed into a benefit for a minority.

Tell people that biology and the environment cause obesity and they are offered the one thing we have to avoid: an excuse. As it is, people who see more fat people around them may themselves be more likely to gain weight.

Safe care saves lives and saves money. Adverse events like high levels of infection, blood clots or falls in hospital, emergency readmissions and pressure sores cost the NHS billions of pounds every year. There is a serious human cost, too, with patients ending up injured, or even dead. Most are avoidable with the right care.

Our interaction as patients with the NHS should be on the basis that there's a presumption that all information is shared with us.

I am not saying do not give people equal health services but do not pretend that giving more money for diabetes or chronic diseases means you are going to deal with the origins of health inequalities.

I know that nurses are not only the largest healthcare profession but are responsible for the delivery of most healthcare, and are often in the best place to be able to see the whole pathway of care.

We will empower patients as well as health professionals. We will disempower the hierarchy and bureaucracy.

If, like me, nothing is more important to you than our children's future, then their opportunities must be protected.

Especially some of the poorest in our society need to have the greatest support because health inequalities are too wide.

I'm not going to go mystery shopping in the NHS because we have a million people every day using it and rating its facilities.

The job of the government - and my responsibility - is to help people live healthier lives. The framework is about giving local authorities the ability to focus on the most effective ways to improve the public's health and reduce health inequalities, long-term, from cradle to grave.

As part of the E.U., my children can have the freedom and the opportunity to work and live across Europe; to be ambitious in the world's largest market; and to access so much of the history, the culture and the opportunity which is our common European heritage.

There's a culture inside the NHS that is highly paternalistic. You know, 'We give them the service and they are grateful.' We have to move to shared decision-making.

When you have an election campaign,it has to be simple and something everybody can relate to.

You should be able to choose which hospital you go to.