Commons Quotes

The rational man finds that his share of the cost of the wastes he discharges into the commons is less than the cost of purifying his wastes before releasing them.

The honest truth is that if this government were to propose the massacre of the first-born, it would still have no difficulty in getting it through the Commons.

Why consider debates in the English House of Commons in 1628 along with documents on American developments in the late eighteenth century? The juxtaposition is not capricious, because the Commons during this period generated many of the ideas that were later embodied in the government of the United States.

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.

If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons.

The food in the House of Commons is fairly good. The cafe in Portcullis House is really very high quality, and you also have a choice of eating in the more traditional restaurants, the Churchill Room or the Members’ Dining Room. I don’t often eat in them, though, as I’m usually on the run.

What distinguishes a commons is that it is not private property, does not have a price, and is oriented towards ‘use value’ rather than ‘exchange value.’ It does not exist to generate profits.

Universities are some of the few places left where a struggle for the commons, for public life, if not democracy itself, can be made visible through the medium of collective voices and social movements energized by the need for a politics and way of life counter to authoritarian capitalism.

Anybody who enjoys being in the House of Commons probably needs psychiatric help.

What the government has to do, if it wants to govern for any length of time, is it must appeal primarily to the third parties in the House of Commons to get them to support it.

Public crowdfunding still suffers from a tragedy of the commons problem. Everyone will want the benefit of the crowdfunded efforts but is incentivized to sit on the sidelines and hope others chip in.

If you believe in democracy, you accept, by definition, the existence and triumph of opposing ideas. The people who believe deeply in the Internet‘s force as a commons operate on that kind of premise.

A rich and diverse commons lowers the cost of living for those who use it. And throughout history, it has been those on low incomes who gain most from the commons.

I hate rodents. I mean, the House of Commons is completely infested. I will stand on a chair if I see one of the things.

If the Internet teaches us anything, it is that great value comes from leaving core resources in a commons, where they’re free for people to build upon as they see fit.

I was in the Commons recently and saw a young lady wearing a nice pair of shoes. I said I liked them and she said my shoes were the reason she became involved in politics.

But first, the news: The House of Commons was sealed off today after police chased an escaped lunatic through the front door during Prime Minister‘s question time. A spokesman at Scotland Yard said it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

People don’t understand it, but the most intense occasions in the House of Commons were the ones I enjoyed most. When events could go either way and you could find yourself out of a job by the end of the day, those were the times when you were most on a high.

‘Creative Commons’ is the self-congratulatory name of a self-congratulatory movement. Somewhat like kibbutz on the Internet, the idea is to write programs – ‘free ware’ – and distribute them without charge.

When I was 14, I told my mother I intended to be in the House of Commons in the morning, in court in the afternoon and on stage in the evening. She realised then a fantasist had been born.

Now that the House of Commons is trying to become useful, it does a great deal of harm.

As I told the House of Commons, God, if we believe in such a thing, does not need protection from criticism.

But there’s certainly only one thing I could never agree with George Galloway on. He’s a teetotaller and wants to close all the bars in the House of Commons. That is just not on.

Think of a public library, worth more for those who cannot afford numerous books. Think of a public waterway or fishing ground. All types of commons have imputed monetary value that together comprise a source of social income. As such, the commons reduces economic inequality and insecurity in society.

I am proud our government has passed a law that ensures priority hiring of Veterans, as I advocated for this, and spoke about it in the House of Commons.

Westminster‘s hardly a billboard for people-centred politics. Given its makeup, the term ‘Commons’ is pretty ironic, too.

A man may speak very well in the House of Commons, and fail very completely in the House of Lords. There are two distinct styles requisite: I intend, in the course of my career, if I have time, to give a specimen of both.

Women have worked hard; starved in prison; given of their time and lives that we might sit in the House of Commons and take part in the legislating of this country.

I’m going to reduce the size of the Cabinet, cut the number of ministers, reduce the size of the House of Commons, campaign for a European Parliament with 100 fewer members, halve the number of political advisers, and abolish a huge swathe of Labour‘s regional bureaucracies and agencies and their offices in Brussels.

No man is regular in his attendance at the House of Commons until he is married.

People do not use foul language in the House of Commons chamber. They just don’t do it, and I don’t, either.

We’re allowed to say wonderful things about the Royal Family in the House of Commons. What you’re not allowed to say is: anything that might be truthful, but that might upset them. So from time to time I’ve been pulled up because I’ve said things which I think are important.

It is the job of government to prevent a tragedy of the commons. That includes the commons of shared values and norms on which democracy depends.

Using the commons as a cesspool does not harm the general public under frontier conditions, because there is no public, the same behavior in a metropolis is unbearable.

There’s no secret about my ambition, I do not want to go into the House of Commons. My only real political interest is in London and if one day I’m in a position to run for mayor, then terrific.

On March 10, 1764, preliminary resolutions passed the House of Commons looking towards the Stamp Act.

Anyone who’s tuned in to the House of Commons TV coverage knows the benches are often empty. I like that. I’m a big fan of political transparency. It’s good for us to know which debates the MPs consider important enough to show up for, and which not.

I’m known on the Hill for having respect, I think, on all sides of the House of Commons because I don’t buy into treating people poorly.

I can’t get very excited about the House of Commons these days because I don’t feel the power is there. What is really bizarre is that you sense it is not in Washington either. It is now very hard even to locate the levers of power, let alone to pull them and change things.

The government’s instinct is to shroud itself in secrecy – to act like the office of a president instead of as a collective cabinet government held to account by the elected House of Commons.