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

The Conservatives must realise that being sceptical is different from being phobic in what is an interdependent world.

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.

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

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've never been much given to little social cliques.

I'm not psychic. I cannot know what is in the mind of particular public figures.