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.

James Frayne: Lessons from around England on how to restore civic pride to our towns

This agenda will be absolutely crucial if ‘levelling up’ is ever to become something meaningful to people on the ground.

James Frayne: Johnson need not abandon the Tory commitment to enterprise to deliver levelling up

Within the party, policies of the free market feel old school – and the language associated with it even more so.

James Frayne: Johnson’s headroom to raise taxes, in the wake of the new levy, has been dramatically reduced

Most obviously, this complicates their Net Zero strategy; you would have expected fiscal policy increasingly to have rebalanced towards green taxes.

James Frayne: Polls suggest the Government will not face a backlash for the principle of withdrawal in Afghanistan

Mainly because people didn’t want troops to be there (or in the Middle East) in the first place.

James Frayne: If ministers want to sell Net Zero to the public, they need to start making sacrifices

Delivering the target will require huge lifestyle changes, but you can’t ask voters to do what you’re not doing yourself.

James Frayne: Simple policies that would let Labour woo the Tories’ working-class voters

Starmer could show he understands the priorities of working class voters by spending more on universities and backing an English Parliament.

James Frayne: Why businesses act woke and what to do about it

The single most important thing for right-leaning outsiders to understand is that boards don’t control most of a firm’s political comment.

James Frayne: What voters and parents think about last week’s Covid education row

Asked who is to “blame” for children falling behind, most parents blame “the pandemic” rather than the Government.

James Frayne: If we don’t have a union with Scotland, it won’t be the end of the world for the English

From Brexit, to the vaccine rollout, to trade, to Hong Kong, Johnson has plenty of good stories to tell – if not blown off course by Scotland.

The centre ground. What it means. And what it doesn’t.

It shouldn’t need stating, but clearly does, that the spectrum as we think of it has zero resonance with the public.

James Frayne: Ministers must put levelling up at the heart of the football review

It’s already about more than narrow questions of governance – and should expand to cover the role clubs play in local communities.

James Frayne: What the polls tell us about the health of the Monarchy

Despite the recent bad press, the overall numbers suggest the institution is probably here to stay.

James Frayne: Four lessons for industry and government from the monstering of AstraZeneca

To make ‘global Britain’ work, ministers will need to do more to defend British companies against politically-motivated attacks.

James Frayne: How will the aftermath of Clapham Common affect the public standing of the police?

I don’t think it will lead to a serious drop in support – but officers will likely not have the same benefit of the doubt after the next such incident.