John Bercow Quotes

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

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

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

There are people who are just very, very sniffy and snobby and have always sort of looked down their noses at me.

Sally is my wife, but not my chattel or my property.

There's no point in worrying about things you can't influence.

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've never been much given to little social cliques.

I'm not in the business of warning people.

If you asked me if I'd rather be Speaker or a very senior minister, I'd say Speaker.

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

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.

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

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.

A legislature cannot be effective while suffering from public scorn.

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

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.

One consistent thing in an otherwise inconsistent career is that I've always been passionate about parliament.