James Frayne: The Conservatives’ next challenge? Persuading voters they know how to cut Government waste.

Simply put: the party needs to “prove” it has cut to the bone to justify existing or higher taxes.

Richard Holden: Tomorrow’s Budget must show a return to traditional Conservative economics of fiscal responsibility

We must get both borrowing and debt down so that, faced with a future pandemic, war or crisis, we can properly respond.

Peter Franklin: Who’s to blame for the energy crisis? And can we prevent the next one?

Trying to price a technology transition ahead of it happening is a fool’s errand. History is littered with examples where the ‘experts’ were proved wrong.

David Gauke: Compassion favours allowing a right to die

Rather like gay marriage, once reform has happened, people in the future will struggle to understand why some had previously objected.

Henry Hill: The SNP wrong to claim the Belfast Agreement is a template for Scotland

Such specious arguments are more for their own activists’ consumption than a serious effort to persuade British ministers.

Robert Halfon: How my friend David Amess showed me the meaning of the Sermon on the Mount

To me, he was the original blue-collar Conservative, embodying the values of an Essex man – of decency and hard work. 

Ryan Bourne: Cut immigration to raise wages? If only it were all so simple.

Pay is a business cost and, in reaction, profit-seeking firms will raise prices, cut worker benefits, slash services, or leave the sector if profits are squeezed.

Lisa Townsend: Across the country, our Police and Crime Commissioners are delivering on local priorities

A directly-elected representative, answerable to the voters, is more democratic than an anonymous Police Authority.

The Moggcast: “He was kind to everybody… He was adored in his constituency.” Rees-Mogg pays tribute to Amess.

And: How social media has soured political discourse. Plus: Why people who don’t come to constituency surgeries may be the ones most in need.

Bim Afolami: MPs’ plight. Trolls, terrorists and thugs account for much of it. But some our problems are of our own making.

We need to stand up for the value of Parliament and of spending time there improving and working on legislation.

Sarah Ingham: Social inequality can’t be fixed by erasing Britain’s history

It is a litany of uncomfortable and inconvenient truths. Obsessing over these does little to spur progress.

Henry Hill: The SNP’s new politics of ‘are you dead yet?’ shows time is not really on their side

Also: Court rules that Lewis has failed in his responsibility to provide abortion services in Ulster; Sturgeon accused of Covid cover-up.

Garvan Walshe: Poland’s Kaczynski fights Brussels – and his own people

Poles believe their country should be considered one of the major nations of Europe, and belong to the same club as Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

Charlotte Gill’s Podcasts Review 2) Camilla Tominey with Liz Truss, Jack Blanchard with Lee Cain, Katy Balls with Dehenna Davison

In this feature, we look at some of the most memorable podcasts of the last few weeks.

Daniel Hannan: Lord Frost’s speech yesterday exposed the staggering petulance of Britain’s Euro-zealots

A section of the commentariat was so unbalanced by the referendum result that it now automatically sides with the EU.