Last month, Business Secretary Vince Cable wrote to FTSE 100 companies without a woman on their board of directors to urge them to take action to widen their representation, arguing it made sound commercial sense.

BBC: Harriet Harman

"Any time you have a significant number of your nationals moving abroad and coming back and forth as they do in the Dominican Republic or retiring there, it makes sense to have a new model or a new level of representation, which I think will be good for over there and over here, " said State.

WSJ: Living in New Jersey, Elected to Serve Far Away

It is perhaps not surprising that Americans so virulently hate taxes: as their sense of political participation has withered, they feel that their forefathers' complaint against taxation without representation is relevant once more.

ECONOMIST: American democracy: Building the perfect citizen | The