Brendan Ryan (Labour)

—and secretly terrified at the same time. In many cases, one really has no idea of what is in store, particularly if one arrives, as I did, from an independent background without a tradition of political involvement. It is people like Tony who begin to give one a sense that one has actually come somewhere that has an important role. He has an ability to be there and at the same time to be almost invisible. He is there to give support, assistance and advice without giving the impression that he is anything other than at one's disposal. He helped people to sort out the complications of their expenses, a trivial issue but one that very often matters to Members.

His sense of the dignity of the place is notable. We are all reluctant to talk about it, although we make noise about it occasionally. It cannot have been easy dealing for 32 years with the most paranoid group of people one could possibly meet, who all have a side of themselves where they are convinced that somebody is out to get them.