Schools and abuse. Do we really want to repeat the calamity of the Child Abuse Inquiry?
And elsewhere, the scandal of Carl Beech and Operation Midland is a reminder that claims of victimhood aren’t always true.
Ryan Bourne: We can never be certain of the costs and benefits of lockdowns
Overall, I still think that their re-use in the UK after the summer lull is evidence of the failure of the Government to think on the right margins.
Miriam Cates: The uncomfortable truth is that we’re failing many families – but have a post-pandemic chance to put that right.
Surely it is far better to invest in helping parents and children than to spend money picking up the pieces.
Buckland gears up for a stealth raid on judicial power – and the Labour legacy that boosted it
The Lord Chancellor post could be returned to the Lords – and once again become both a senior judge and a Cabinet member at once.
Richard Holden: This spring’s local elections. For levelling-up to work, we need local councils and leaders who back it.
The sad truth is that many local Labour councils and local bureaucracies don’t want it: they’re scared of it.
Gavin Rice: The Conservative campaign in Hartlepool kicks off today. But will Johnson deliver for his new working class voters?
The calling-in of a planning application to open a coalmine at Whitehaven suggests prioritising green optics over Northern livelihoods.
Winning independence for Scotland isn’t Salmond’s only motive in forming Alba. It may not even be the main one.
How many SNP representatives, members and voters are already raising a glass to Bonnie Prince Alex – King over the Water?
Tim Loughton: So – no Wuhan holiday home for me. Yes, I’ve been sanctioned by China. But it won’t stop me speaking out.
My four fellow Conservative MPs are more determined than ever to make sure the country’s regime faces serious consequences for its atrocities and abuses.
The Government should give MPs more votes on the Coronavirus Act
It would surely not be hard to amend it to require ministers to seek the Commons’ authorisation more frequently than every six months.
David Gauke: I’m a convinced Remainer – but believe nonetheless that the EU has mishandled its vaccine policy
All the same, we have to make this relationship work – because, if we do not, both sides have the capacity to do each other a lot of harm.
What has really changed in West Yorkshire – or elsewhere in Britain – since copies of The Satanic Verses were burned?
Gavin Williamson is right to condemn disorder and threats in Batley, and the police should be taking an interest.
David Davis: The Covid public inquiry should open in October, be held in two stages – and prepare for the unexpected
First, it should present future recommendations within a year. Next, on a longer timescale, it should look at what went wrong.
Iain Dale: I see Prince Harry is now a misinformation officer. May I suggest he starts with a certain interview.
Plus: Why did it take the police so long to investigate the endemic corruption within Liverpool City Council?
Bernard Jenkin: The roadmap makes sense – and as we vote today this is no time for complacency
We are still in the danger zone – and that’s before you even start thinking about new variants. Much rides on surge testing, quarantines and booster shots.
New and old reasons for flying the flag
English understatedness and reticence is all very well, but England isn’t the whole of the UK – and, like much else, Britishness needs its symbols.