As US refocuses on traditional values, will Britain do the same?

LAST week, sitting in a hotel room in New Jersey, with a dozen US news channels, I struggled to find any mention of the local elections in England and Wales, such is American self-absorption and incuriosity about the wider world. Nonetheless the US economic, social and political news provided no shortage of food for thought about the state of Britain and the comparative condition of its society and politics.

As ever, I was struck by the resilience of the US economy, the persistence of people's attachment to "values" and politicians regard for that attachment, in all of which respects Britain compares less favourably.

April brought mid-Western tornad...