When I first started out in politics I was, what you might describe as, a hard right Conservative.

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.

It's called optimism — but I’m losing the hang of it fast.

The self-realized spirit is merely a spirit emancipated from fear, judgement and knowing.

All my life I had feared to-morrow, until I decided to have faith and to live to-day in courage.

Many persons swear by positive thinking, and quite a few have been helped by it. Nevertheless, it is not a very effective tool and can be downright harmful in some cases.

Marriage, n: the state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress, and two slaves, making in all, two.

I grew up thirty miles down the highway in San Marcos, and I've still got family there, so I guess I'm pretty well rooted.

The secret of successful writing lies in striking the right keys on the typewriter.

You have to own your days and name them, each one of them, every one of them, or else the years go right by and none of them belong to you.

I'm not sure I should reveal the sources of my clothes.

I never knew that I would be actually designing clothes or as into fashion as I am now.