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.
One consistent thing in an otherwise inconsistent career is that I’ve always been passionate about parliament.
Sally is my wife, but not my chattel or my property.
The prime minister’s job is to captain his team, his party and his government.
There are people who are just very, very sniffy and snobby and have always sort of looked down their noses at me.
When I first started out in politics I was, what you might describe as, a hard right Conservative.
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.
I’m supremely uninterested as to what is written in many of the newspapers.
There’s no point in worrying about things you can’t influence.
Fairness is not about statistical equality.
Even youngish men can acquire wisdom as time goes by.
For far too long the House of Commons has been run as little more than a private club by and for gentleman amateurs.
I don’t want to crawl over the entrails of past disputes.
I pride myself on being courteous to people, and trying to fashion good relations.
I think the record shows that as Speaker, I have taken the lead in cleaning up politics.
I’m not in the business of warning people.
I’m not psychic. I cannot know what is in the mind of particular public figures.
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.
Persist, persist, persist!