Ferdinand Mount

It's true that I'm taking a break from writing a regular column to do other things but it's got nothing to do with what dear Simon has or has not written. ”

We criticize, copy, patronize, idolize and insult but we never doubt that the U.S. has a unique position in the history of human hopes. ”

We want a system that will improve consistency and steadiness in the quality of government. ”

Defenders of the status quo will argue that this system has served us well over the centuries, that our parliamentary traditions have combined stability and flexibility and that we should not cast away in a minute what has taken generations to build. ”

Something is happening to Britain and the British. Or has happened. We are said to be passing through a transition, or a turning point, or a transformation; nobody is quite sure which. ”