I've never been much given to little social cliques.

Fairness is not about statistical equality.

If someone is being very cheeky, it can be quite fun to deal with that situation.

For far too long the House of Commons has been run as little more than a private club by and for gentleman amateurs.

I pride myself on being courteous to people, and trying to fashion good relations.

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.

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.

I think the record shows that as Speaker, I have taken the lead in cleaning up politics.

I don't want to crawl over the entrails of past disputes.

It's a cowardly form of politics to use my spouse to beat me.

A legislature cannot be effective while suffering from public scorn.

Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so.

From start to finish, my experience with 'Moonlight' has been the most unique thing.

The seasons are what a symphony ought to be: four perfect movements in harmony with each other.

If we looked down at the world from space, we would not see any demarcations of national boundaries. We would simply see one small planet, just one.

It is the unspoken ethic of all magicians to not reveal the secrets.

No language can express the power and beauty and heroism of a mother's love.

Young people are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for counsel; and more fit for new projects than for settled business.

You can take for granted that people know more or less what a street, a shop, a beach, a sky, an oak tree look like. Tell them what makes this one different.

I am a bookworm. For play, I bury myself in the corners of libraries and read.

Responsibility is the choice we make to respond with care.