James Frayne: England and Englishness, the powerful conundrum

New polling shows that national identity is a strong, emotive force – but also that it remains poorly-defined.

WATCH: The Tracey Ullman sketch that is riling the Corbynistas

” Corbyn: ‘I never supported the military campaign’. Adams: ‘And I was never a member of the IRA.’ “

WATCH: “This is proceeding at the proper pace” – Hinds denies that he is pushing too fast on T-levels

“We started this process a couple of years ago, there’s still two years and four months before teaching will begin”, the Education Secretary argues.

WATCH: “Reoffending rates are far too high for short sentences…they aren’t long enough to turn lives around” – Stewart on prisons

The Prisons Minister says reducing the numbers incarcerated for under a year “would be good for public safety, good for the individuals and good for the prison system”.

WATCH: Rees-Mogg – “Customs Union…does not solve the seamless border issue”

“If we were to stay as a rule-taker…that would not be delivering on Brexit.”

Iain Dale: The good plain old-fashioned party poster – driven out of politics by thuggery and fear

Plus: Local elections – Jacqui Smith and I step in where the BBC won’t go. And: my advice to Rudd? KBO – as Churchill used to put it.

WATCH: Johnson – “This was the right thing to do – to deter the use of chemical weapons not just by Assad but around the world”

“People around the world are looking now and saying ‘finally, someone stood up against that’, and the world said ‘enough’ to the use of such weapons.”

WATCH: “I want to see incontrovertible evidence” – Corbyn still won’t say Russia was responsible for the Salisbury attack

“Do you agree with John McDonnell, who said this was…state-sponsored?” “If we’re going to make an…assertion like that we’ve got to have the absolute evidence…”

Iain Dale: There’s a glint in Harman’s eye as she watches the Speaker’s chair

Plus: For and against bombing Syria. For Andrew Neil. Against Andrew Adonis. And: not an erection in sight.

WATCH: Adonis defends his claim that the BBC ‘created Farage’

The one-time Transport Secretary is accused of turning into “the crazier, shoutier end of Twitter” and going “a bit Paul Mason”.

George Maggs: Modern feminism is a gendered form of reconstituted socialism

Earlier this month, however, when it emerged that another rape gang had been operating with impunity, this time in Telford, the silence was deafening.

WATCH: “Are you going to investigate the Remain campaign?” Oakeshott asks Cadwalladr

“It is not about Remain or Leave,” the Observer journalist replies – while notably failing to say “yes”.

Chris Whitehouse: The BBC needs to welcome and respond to scrutiny

Its reputation and market share has taken a buffeting recently, but its position is recoverable.

Profile: Geoff Norcott – the “only” Conservative comedian

He could have a future as a political commentator of unusual perceptiveness, who understands that everything is in flux.

WATCH: Houchen urges the UK to “capitalise on the opportunity” of Brexit to develop freeports

The Tees Valley mayor says his area was “left behind in the Blair and Brown years”, and this is a chance to rebalance the economy.