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.

Bishops sit in the House of Lords automatically.

The House of Lords has many fine aspects, but at its heart, it is a betrayal of the core democratic principle that those in the enlightened world hold so dear - that those who make the laws of the land should be elected by those who must obey those laws.

We believe very strongly in this case. ... I'll have to sit down with our team of litigators and hear from them as to what is the appropriate next step,

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.

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