William Rees-Mogg was Editor of The Times from 1967-81 and was made a life peer in 1988. He writes weekly for The Times en-uk Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:37:29 GMT Copyright 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd. custserv@timesonline.co.uk http://www.timesonline.co.uk Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:38:34 GMT Newspapers 144 21 http://www.timesonline.co.uk http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,116979,00.gif Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT 2009-06-28T09:20:01Z The House of Commons is in danger of cutting its own constitutional throat, but the Clerk of the House is trying to stop them. The clerk is Malcolm Jack, a man of scholarship and courage who is the ultimate referee on all constitutional questions which affect the Commons. His core duty is to advise the House, its Speaker, the committees and MPs on the practice and procedure of the House, and its rights. William Rees-Mogg Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:39 GMT 2009-06-21T11:34:28Z I doubt whether Gordon Brown's interview with The Guardian was intended to smoothe the way for his early retirement, but it has been taken that way, particularly by other newspapers. There was a note of regret in what he said. “It wouldn't worry me if I never returned to any of those places - Downing Street, Chequers.” His interview would fit in with preparation for an early resignation, if that became necessary&#59; experienced politicians like to create options for themselves that they will not necessarily take. By William Rees-Mogg Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:47 GMT 2009-06-14T08:26:48Z Dictatorships, as well as democracies, depend on money, although North Korea and Zimbabwe would like to prove the contrary. Dictators have their own constituencies and their constituencies have their own costs. William Rees-Mogg Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:00:39 GMT 2009-06-07T09:57:34Z Politics remains a very personal business. My first experience of an election campaign was the general election of 1929. We were living in Somerset, as we still are, and in the old Frome constituency. We now live in the constituency of Somerton & Frome. My mother, who had learnt her politics in the United States, put blue rosettes on my pram and took me to canvass Maynard Terrace, a row of miners' cottages, named after Daisy Maynard, who became Countess of Warwick and mistress of King Edward VII.