Welcome to our collection of thought-provoking and inspiring quotes by David Lammy, a prominent British politician known for his impassioned advocacy for social justice, equality, and human rights. As a Member of Parliament for Tottenham and a respected voice within the Labour Party, Lammy has dedicated his career to championing causes that aim to create a fairer and more inclusive society for all. With a fervent commitment to addressing systemic inequalities and tackling pressing issues such as racial injustice, education reform, and criminal justice reform, Lammy’s words resonate deeply with those striving for positive change in our world.
Throughout his career, David Lammy has articulated powerful insights and perspectives on a wide range of issues, offering wisdom and guidance to those navigating the complexities of contemporary social and political landscapes. Whether discussing the importance of education as a pathway to opportunity, the need for greater diversity and representation in positions of power, or the urgency of confronting systemic racism, Lammy’s quotes are both illuminating and motivating. Explore the collection below to discover poignant reflections and compelling ideas that shed light on pressing issues facing our society today.
I know what to say, how to say it, how to bring profile to the issues I care about and people want to listen to me. David Lammy
Football is a great way for me to catch up with my sons, and to let off some steam from my professional life. David Lammy
At school, I was frequently subjected to racial abuse. David Lammy
Prejudice is not just a personal sentiment – it can be institutional too. David Lammy
If we want to raise the aspirations of young men, we should be praising their achievements, not talking them down. David Lammy
The 1980s were tough for most of Britain, but nowhere more so than Tottenham. David Lammy
I think that’s always something when you’re working class, when you’re aware of things that you haven’t had; there are moments when you question yourself, definitely. David Lammy
Parents’ evenings were a big event in our social calendar and school reports were taken very seriously; ‘C’ was not a grade my mother recognised. Her favourite shop was WH Smith, where every week there would be a new book or pen or calculator to buy. But most importantly, she was my best friend. David Lammy
We need specific work on race equality programmes and programmes targeted at helping those who are yet to fulfil their potential. David Lammy
I’m so bored of tribal politics. That’s part of the problem. I’m so bored of it. I’m not a tribalist. That’s not what turns me on. David Lammy
Many single mothers do a heroic job looking after their children, as mine did with us; but as she found, it becomes twice as hard to set boundaries with half the number of parents. David Lammy
I knew what it was to be poor… my mother worried about putting food on the table. I knew what it was to feel excluded and shut out, but I also knew what it was to experience love and generosity. David Lammy
Throughout her life my mother, Rose, prayed for good health. My father left when I was 12 and money was tight, so she couldn’t afford to take time off work. I have a younger sister and three older brothers, and she used to panic that we’d be taken into care if she wasn’t able to look after us. David Lammy
The great thing about running is that so often you wake up and you think: ‘I really don’t feel like this.’ And even when you’re up and out, that first kilometre is tough. But then once you get to 3km and you’re getting to the end of the run, it’s really fantastic. David Lammy
It is hard to speak the truth about valued national institutions. But when they are not fit for purpose, we must speak out. David Lammy
To tackle the scourge of young unemployment we need to be ambitious. David Lammy
I’m just not convinced that the British people I know and love are interested in revolution. David Lammy
For me, a hoodie is like a pair of slippers or pyjamas – something comfortable and well-worn that you can wear unthinkingly. Unless, of course, you happen to be a black male. David Lammy
I love to run outdoors, being outside, enjoying nature, looking up through the trees, being out among the elements… I don’t think there’s a better way to start the day. David Lammy
When I was a young child and before he had left us for the U.S., my father would give me Mark Twain novels. In the characters, the weather and the context, my father must have seen many parallels to his own youth in the Caribbean in the 1930s and 40s. David Lammy
Plenty of people are intrigued by their family history. Growing up as the son of West Indian immigrants who moved to London in the 1950s and 60s, I was especially fascinated by anecdotes about the lives of my Guyanese relatives, which seemed a million miles away from Tottenham’s Broadwater Farm estate. David Lammy
From closing the digital divide to after-school activities and eating well, we cannot afford to ignore the link between deprivation and underachievement. David Lammy
While at Harvard, I was struck by the palpable sense of noblesse oblige that surrounds their sophisticated outreach and bursary programmes. It is almost as if they view extending opportunity to disadvantaged individuals as their highest mission. David Lammy
As a young man, I was angry about all things legal. David Lammy
Supporting Spurs is a bit like being in the Labour Party. It’s a labour of love, believe me. David Lammy
Mum was born in 1938 in Guyana and came to Britain at the end of the 60s. She settled in Tottenham, north London, and worked for London Transport and then as a home help, a care assistant and finally a local authority officer. Bringing up five children singlehandedly with little money can’t have been easy, but she did it with tremendous style. David Lammy
I’m not one of those people for which politics is my sole preoccupation. David Lammy
Our political class obsesses over social mobility from one generation to the next – whether or not people are doing better than their parents did – but we rarely talk about those who are already in work and want to progress. David Lammy
My father was a taxidermist, not a run-of-the-mill profession for a West Indian immigrant. Having given up on becoming a vet, he settled for working with dead animals rather than live ones. Dad was a true craftsman, an artist. David Lammy
If you’re in the business of law you’re in the business of representation and precedent. David Lammy
My biggest fear growing up was that I would end up in prison. That was the fate of growing numbers of my peers. David Lammy
I love the theatre and Miller is one of my all-time favourite playwrights. ‘All My Sons’ is a very socialist play, which exposes the lack of empathy that can accompany capitalism when it is left unchecked. David Lammy
Courts are too distant from the communities they put on trial. David Lammy
When I make a contribution in debates and in our public life, the House wants to hear what I say. It goes quiet – it wants to know what my opinion is. David Lammy
In Britain, we ought to be in a position where doctors and therapists are able to prescribe mindfulness, acupuncture, osteopathy de rigueur, and it not only be available in certain fantastic surgeries in London and Brighton. David Lammy
I certainly knew the hard side of urban life, stop-and-search. David Lammy
There were a lot of things I thought of doing as I was growing up, from becoming a singer to a priest to a pilot. David Lammy
Separate but equal is a fraud. David Lammy
Music, dance, literature and the visual arts open up a rich and intensely rewarding world. It is a world that should not be the preserve of the few. David Lammy
People ‘demand’ the opportunity to gamble away money they do not have, just like people ‘demand’ money from loan sharks at extortionate interest rates. This is a warped, empty type of freedom, in which the powerful are free to exploit the vulnerable. David Lammy
Edgy’ music has always formed the cornerstone to any teenage rebellion. Most indulge in it precisely because adults like me don’t like them doing so. David Lammy
Ultimately, we must either abandon our reliance on stop and search or abandon any hope for a criminal justice system grounded in equality, impartiality and fairness. David Lammy
I like the state of being self-aware, it’s interesting when you start to look at your own habits. David Lammy
We should not let those with a political agenda use London’s growing population to support their anti-immigration rhetoric, and we should challenge those who want to label London’s global attraction a flaw rather than a strength. David Lammy
A workplace culture where fathers are encouraged to take paternity leave would result in stronger families, a more equal labour market and a better economy. David Lammy
Cities can be paradoxical places. In the mornings they buzz with commuters, in the evenings they come alive with diners and partygoers, at weekends the streets fill with shoppers and market traders. But amidst the hustle and bustle, even the greatest city can be a lonely place. David Lammy
Fathers need to be made aware of their responsibilities – and that’s up to all of us to communicate, as parents, as politicians and as members of a community. David Lammy
A good society is characterised not just by liberty but by mutual respect and responsibility. When this breaks down it takes a lot more than police officers to put things right. David Lammy
Too much of the Brexit rhetoric is based on the desire to go out and re-create Empire. David Lammy
People who have no stake in society are the least likely to have respect for it. David Lammy
We have to challenge head-on the way the BNP takes legitimate concerns and manipulates them in the interests of its fascist agenda. David Lammy
We cannot afford to lose talented young black people, who make it to university, overseas, or worse, to let other talented black people be put off by the notion that university is somehow not for them. David Lammy
A university education is a privilege, but we should be proud that in Britain it is also a right, no matter what your income or class or ethnic background. David Lammy
Active dads make a positive contribution: they are good for children and they are good for mothers. David Lammy
White supremacy is not confined to strange men in the Deep South who put on white cloaks, it is not confined to strange gatherings of the English Defence League. David Lammy
My wife does all the driving. David Lammy
Like many black men growing up in London, I have been stopped and searched by several policemen. I was 12 years old when I was first groped and frisked by police for walking down the road. It terrified me so much I wet myself. David Lammy
Reading international law at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London was a wonderful experience. With its incredibly diverse student population, I began to immerse myself in the ways social, legal and political forces contribute to human rights and freedoms. David Lammy
The pressures of being an MP mean free time is a very rare luxury. David Lammy
I grew up under Thatcher; the era of apartheid; the era of the poll tax; the era of riots. I remember Neil Kinnock was a hero. David Lammy
I was obsessed with Nelson Mandela. I had big posters of him in my bedroom and he became my proxy father figure. He was in jail, so I could project all sorts of things about what he would say to me. David Lammy
Universities are not like supermarkets: their job is to serve the country, not just the customers who happen to walk through their doors. David Lammy
Fathers matter. David Lammy
You can’t be in business with international development and not understand basic issues of colonialism, postcolonialism and white privilege. David Lammy
Being in opposition takes some getting used to. As a former minister, you don’t just lose your job and the enormous resources of the civil service, you also have to watch programmes that you were involved in being gradually dismantled. David Lammy
Unemployed people should be treated as potential to be realised, not a problem to be solved. David Lammy
We cannot have different policing for different communities. It is inherently unfair. David Lammy
I’m a legislator, but it’s hard to legislate when my party’s out of power. David Lammy
If companies shared profits with their workers, employers and employees would have a greater mutual interest in each other’s success. David Lammy
A good life depends on the strength of our relationships with family, friends, neighbours, colleagues and strangers. David Lammy
The New Labour doctrine that skills training was the responsibility of employers was flawed. The idea that employers should take on a bigger role ignores the reality that employers have no incentive to train staff to leave. We can hardly expect Tesco to train checkout staff to become dental nurses. David Lammy
The ingrained image of black men being searched by the police feeds into the collective illusion that black men everywhere need to be policed more than others. David Lammy
A loving family matters. So do male role models. David Lammy
I’ve got a very full life beyond my career. David Lammy
I have very eclectic tastes. I love soul and Motown; I listen to some rap – Stormzy, Tinie Tempah, Drake. I also love classical music, American country and the folk tradition. I often start the day with gospel on my way to work. The only thing I have never got into is punk. David Lammy
I spend much of my time in a suit and tie with my top button done up and my sensible shoes neatly polished. When it comes to work, my appearance is about communicating professionalism and confidence. David Lammy
People don’t contest that I’m British as a black man, but they do contest that I’m English. Too many people are going back to an ethnocentric idea of what being English means. David Lammy
I tend not to read fiction – I’ll read one novel a year during the summer – but I do read a lot of nonfiction. David Lammy
For even the most seasoned observers of American politics, Barack Obama is a phenomenon. David Lammy
Family policy is not a zero-sum game: any gain for dads need not come at the expense of mums. David Lammy
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis’ by JD Vance made me entirely rethink U.S. republicanism, Donald Trump and the American white working class. David Lammy
Stop and search is an integral cog in a racially disproportionate criminal justice system. David Lammy
Dads are not a risk to be managed, but a resource to be used for the benefit of the whole family. David Lammy
Mum worked nonstop, doing two, sometimes three, jobs throughout the 80s. David Lammy
I’m a prolific tweeter. It allows me to respond to the news of the day or comment on something Jacob Rees-Mogg has said on behalf of my constituents. David Lammy
When I was growing up, I wanted to be Michael Jackson. I used to sing and dance and perform with my sister at parties for 50p. David Lammy
I’d always been the kind of lawyer that was attracted back to policy. David Lammy
From protecting consumers to establishing common standards and promoting free trade, the E.U. plays a central role. And nation states alone cannot tackle common threats such as climate change without the co-ordination that the E.U. and other supranational institutions provide. David Lammy
Mum eventually graduated with a City & Guilds certificate that hung proudly on our living room wall throughout my childhood. David Lammy
Parenting is more than a numbers game: it’s a question of whether people are equipped for the toughest job they will ever be asked to do. David Lammy
As I have consistently recommended, we desperately need to find more black judges, particularly females, who are chronically underrepresented in our courts across London and the U.K. David Lammy
We look around at our national politicians, we do not see national politicians who are without fault. And, actually, we see quite a lot who get very far – let’s take Boris Johnson- with considerable. White. Privilege. Failure after failure after failure rewarded. David Lammy
As the MP for an area like Tottenham you quickly learn that the factors leading to unemployment are as numerous as they are diverse. David Lammy
I remember singing as a chorister in Peterborough Cathedral, having won a music scholarship to go to school there, and realising for the first time in my life what true excellence was. David Lammy
The idea of a family sitting round the kitchen table and carefully planning their future family size based on the certainty of years to come is a complete fantasy. Back in the real world, jobs are lost, livelihoods taken away, families break apart, partners leave or pass away. David Lammy
It is the responsibility of all of us to create a culture that encourages and enables fathers to spend more time with their families. David Lammy
Many black youths are defying stereotypes, achieving good academic results, finding employment and contributing to their communities. But helping those who fall behind is not an exercise in political correctness, it is a precisely what a compassionate – and sensible – state should concern itself with. David Lammy
I’m not going to be cowed by the rampant racism, the organised racism, that comes from parts of the alt-right. David Lammy
We will not achieve gender equality in the workplace until we fix our system of parental leave. David Lammy
Leadership is about tough choices. David Lammy