Interview: James Kirkup on trans. And how campaigners have exploited MPs’ fear of being accused of transphobia.

And he asks: why did the Women and Equalities Select Committee choose an adviser open to the charge of being parti pris?

Iain Mansfield: To bring greater fairness to families, free childcare should be linked to the transferable tax allowance

In the second instalment of our mini-series on families and tax, the author says that trading off the two would give parents, straight or gay, greater choice and control.

Leighton Rowlands: Our Party has made great strides on LGBT representation, but there is more to do

We need to tackle homophobia where it persists in the community – starting with the use of the word ‘gay’ as an insult.

Henry Hill: Bradley criticised for ‘legal assault’ on ex-servicemen and dithering on MLA pay cuts

Also: Three Plaid AMs call for leadership challenge against Wood; Foster breaks new ground at LGBT event; and Sargeant inquiry may not report until Jones steps down.

Tatchell defends anti-abortion protests – and tells how he got Cameron and Johnson to support same-sex marriage

The veteran LGBT campaigner says the former Prime Minister’s aides “were terrified I might try and kiss him, or superglue myself to the Cabinet table”.

We bow to the case for another referendum

It looks to be the least bad medium-term means of settling the future of abortion laws in Northern Ireland.

David Shiels: An Ulster by-election this week – and why abstention is a greater challenge to the Union than Brexit

It knows that it can continue the policy of staying out of the institutions in Belfast and London without damaging its long-term strategy. Unionists need them to work.

Paul Maginnis: My manifesto for boosting social mobility

It has fascinated me since growing up in a single parent family on the outskirts of Belfast – before attending the lowest-performing secondary school in Northern Ireland.

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.

Nicky Morgan: Conservatives helped to deliver votes for women. Now we should provide votes at 16.

By accepting that 16 and 17 year olds in Scotland could vote on their future during the Scottish referendum, we undermined the case for not extending the franchise further.

Henry Hill: Davidson’s Westminster timetable has been clear since June

Also: Sargeant’s son to contest his seat at Welsh by-election; and Labour may use direct rule to align Northern Irieland with the mainland on abortion and gay marriage.

David Jeffery: How divisions among Leave-backing MPs helped May to win the last leadership election

Those who voted against same-sex marriage were more likely to support Leadsom than those who voted for the legislation, whilst the opposite was true for Gove.

If Stormont is to be overridden on gay marriage, it must be by Parliament

Ulster citizens deserve the same marriage rights as their fellow Britons. But a recent bid to secure them through the courts was wrong.

Henry Hill: Jones criticises ‘regrettable’ change of tone on Brexit from Dublin

Also: Green MSP hits out at nationalist hardliners; cracks appear in DUP’s gay marriage position; and Northern Irish Labour officers resign over infiltration.

Catholic schools, transgendered people – and a missing Conservative equalities policy

Over time, proposals have either been denounced as politically correct nonsense, or embraced with an enthusiastic “me, too”-ism. Neither approach is exactly rigorous.