I never aspired to be Speaker simply so I could say, 'I am the Speaker of the House of Commons,' and tell my children that.
Possibly the fact that I was physically quite feeble, a relatively short little fellow, attracted me to that idea of a very authoritative and aggressive version of Conservative politics.
If someone is being very cheeky, it can be quite fun to deal with that situation.
I've never been much given to little social cliques.
It is quite wrong for party conferences to be used as an excuse for the Commons not to sit. Conferences could be held at weekends.
I am seeking every day to restore faith in Parliament - to ensure we have a House of Commons which is representative, effective and reconnected to the people we serve.
For far too long the House of Commons has been run as little more than a private club by and for gentleman amateurs.
There is no denying or hiding the fact that over the years I moved from well on the right of the Conservative Party, much much more to its left, and therefore to the centre of the poltical spectrum.
I pride myself on being courteous to people, and trying to fashion good relations.
I don't think that people are disinterested or uninterested in politics. I think very often they are disengaged from the formal political process. To some extent they are suspicious or even despairing of formal politics as a means to give expression and effect to what they want.
I don't want to crawl over the entrails of past disputes.
One consistent thing in an otherwise inconsistent career is that I've always been passionate about parliament.
The Conservatives must realise that being sceptical is different from being phobic in what is an interdependent world.
I think the state opening of Parliament is an incredibly important occasion, and broadly speaking, the way in which it's done is an invaluable tradition.
A legislature cannot be effective while suffering from public scorn.
I do strongly believe myself that members of the government who sit in the House of Lords should be accountable to the elected House because otherwise there is a democratic deficit, and that is wrong.
There are people who are just very, very sniffy and snobby and have always sort of looked down their noses at me.
I'm not psychic. I cannot know what is in the mind of particular public figures.
Sally is my wife, but not my chattel or my property.
Fairness is not about statistical equality.
