At only 26, Leslie will have to stand in for the staggeringly numerous younger British women who have shared with me their lack of enthusiasm for the familial project. Leslie is a publicist for a small literary publishing company, to which she is devoted. She's very good at her job. Her sunny, perky quality provides a welcome counterpoint to my jaded older friends, and she's optimistic about the future - hers, that is.

Leslie does not want children. "When I think about my future, I envisage the fulfilment of ambitions such as travelling and furthering my career, not having babies. I can't imagine I will be able to give up the lifestyle I lead to become a parent. I would like to spend time working and travelling abroad. Financial independence is very important to me, as is retaining my own independence in any relationship. Something would have to give in order to properly care for a child, and unfortunately it's most often the mother who has to forego some aspect of her life."

When I ask her, an only child, if it matters to her whether she carries on the family line, she says, "It's not really something I've thought about."

On the other hand, Leslie offers evidence that Be Here Now - living for the present - is not always morally arid. "I certainly don't see my purpose as being to perpetuate the human race. What makes my life worth living for me - and what, I think, redeems my life - is my relationships and interaction with others, be they family, friends, lovers, colleagues, total strangers. I think what redeems individuals is their acts of humanity."

Like most of her generation, Leslie isn't concerned with maintaining the Anglo-Saxon identity of Britain. "Is there any true British race now, anyway? I think it's far too late to start worrying about its preservation at this stage." She has embraced multiculturalism, and faces the prospect of western cities going majority-minority with cheer. "Most of my friends are from different ethnic backgrounds, and I feel lucky to live in London, a city full of such diverse cultures, religions and races. I think diversity adds to British culture rather than destroys it."

As for whether she worries that she might regret giving motherhood a miss, Leslie would subject the decision to one test only: whether she might be "discontented" in future. "But then who's to say that I would feel more content if I did have children?"

Most of my friends are from different ethnic backgrounds, and I feel lucky to live in London, a city full of such diverse cultures, religions and races. I think diversity adds to British culture rather than destroys it.