The very English scandal of Thorpe the Liberal leader and Rinka the dog

The comedy and horror of Thorpe’s trial, and of the 1970s, are caught in this book and television series.

Joe Baron: The campaign to tear down statues of British heroes is not about balance – it’s pure propaganda

It’s one thing to acknowledge the fact that all human beings are nuanced and flawed. It’s quite another to censor our past.

The Tory Left: not always Out, not necessarily Loud, but definitely Proud – and a growing force

A list of new Tory Reform Group patron MPs suggests that it is stronger in the Commons than it may look.

Rupert Matthews: We don’t just need a good Brexit deal for Britain. We need one for the Falkland Islands too.

They benefit from tariff and quota-free access. If you eat calamari in southern Europe, there is about a 50 per cent chance it is a Falklands squid.

Early steps towards a modern Swinton College

A low-key event with an invited audience next week will explore how to apply lessons and methods from the Party’s past to its present and future.

Strength through joy?

Change, optimism and hope are a step up from paralysis, despair and pessimism. But successful politicians don’t necessarily radiate uplift.

A year on from the Manchester atrocity

It was a textbook case of how Islamist terror works here – or has to date, anyway. We honour and remember those who died.

Alex Deane: Go for it, Theresa! Pack the Lords with a hundred new Leave-backing peers – for a year

Let’s send a time-limited cadre of shock troops in ermine to ride to Martin Callanan’s rescue in the Upper House – and crush the Remainers.

Iain Dale: Gammon if you think you’re hard enough. The patronising Remainers who’ve lost but can’t move on.

Plus: Boles was right (first time round) on Gaza. The Dambusters raid anniversary. A Tory poll lead. Plus: a man and a woman will marry in Windsor on Saturday.

James Bickerton: Why aren’t the Far Left treated with the same disdain as the Far Right?

There would, quite rightly, be outrage if a senior Conservative figure delivered a speech to a crowd which waved fascist flags.

Peter Lilley: Sovereignty or prosperity? It’s a false choice. They go hand in hand.

Not being able to blame Brussels for our problems nor look to the EU for solutions will be immensely reinvigorating.

J.P.Floru: In defence of tax havens. May’s threat to the British Overseas Territories is un-Conservative.

Do we really want them either to declare independence, or else become benefit claimants, funded by British taxpayers?

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.

Alan Mak: Investing in new technology will create a new era of patient power

As I set out in my report, my challenge to the NHS is to move all GP surgeries and hospitals from being paper-first to digital-first organisations over the next 10 years.

Peter Marshall: A hard truth after the Commonwealth summit. There’s no institutional awareness of its importance.

I have lost count of the number of times I have heard its demise confidently predicted or stridently recommended. Houdini-like, it has so far escaped this awaited fate.