Profile: David Lidington – the Tory loyalist diverging from his leader over Brexit. And now tipped as her successor.

At the heart of May’s operation, this staunch Conservative is now mulling potential ways to a second referendum with Labour MPs.

Ministers appear to have assumed gender self-identification would be an uncontroversial change – they were wrong

New polling shows levels of opposition to the Government’s proposed reform well above what many campaigners had expected, and across social and political divides.

Votes at 16. Handle with care.

We feel a commission, a working group, an inquiry coming in – to look these inconsistencies, accidents of history and quirks, to see if some tidying-up is required.

Siobhan Baillie: Cohabiting couples deserve a change in the law

The modern family is changing, and the law should change with it. In any event, the traditional view of marriage has already been overhauled by the Conservatives.

Henry Hill: Sturgeon wishes that the SNP had a less nationalist name

Also: Unionists accuse Sinn Fein of ‘ploy’ over talks; prominent Cybernat arrested; Ulster court throws out gay marriage case; and more.

The questions behind the new transgender rights proposals

In the current climate, this controversial announcement seems reasonably unsurprising. The issue is by no means straightforward, however.