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.

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.

No constitution is or can be perfectly symmetrical, what it can and must be is generally accepted as both fair and usable.

A majority in all parties do, I think, want to see local government recover its old vigour and independence.

In real terms, there is a greater disparity of earnings between the very rich and the very poor.

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

What the world needs now is more Americans. The U.S. is the first nation on earth deliberately dedicated to letting people choose what they want and giving them a chance to get it.

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.

All the research shows that being married, with all its ups and downs, is by far the most effective way of making young men law-abiding and giving them a sense of purpose and self-worth.

We are also further than ever from equality of opportunity.

One of the unsung freedoms that go with a free press is the freedom not to read it.

Careers are not made in a family business, they are born – by patricide. Then they die from neglect, and avoid the tragedy of being put out of business.

I do look for the good in everyone. I also give them a chance to be their best, and I try to cope with my disappointment when they're not

Even death is going to die!

I hate to sound like Julie the cruise director but it's people that I think about all the time.

Let us eat, drink and satisfy our coarse appetites, but let us keep our souls sacred and apart.

There seems to be a law that governs all our actions so I never make plans.

What is it about the component of fire? People have written about it. People have wondered about it.

Help one another is part of the religion of our sisterhood.

If you allow your mind to carp at all and sundry, it will turn against itself: the majority of our sorrows are self-inflicted.