Dave Evans: We need a Department for Social Care to give the issue the focus it needs

Children in care are denied the opportunities available to others. Levelling up must include transforming their life chances.

Jonathan Gullis: Levelling up must mean more free schools in places like Stoke

My area is rich in ambition but poor in educational opportunity, children are falling behind their peers around the rest of the country.

Harry Fone: Councils have saved millions on their printing bills

With new leadership in many local areas, there is lots of potential for bold and innovative ways to save money.

Abi Brown: In Stoke, we now have the freedom to decide our own procurement policy

Greater clarity in the tendering process has allowed us to achieve value for money and to back local businesses.

Hugh Sykes: How spatial planning can make levelling up a reality

Put simply, it is the “where” of decisions – it helps policy makers to see where, and how, to focus effort, direct investment and encourage economic activity.

Harry Fone: Bristol is consulting on a Council Tax rise. But will it take any notice of the response?

Plus: Stoke cuts bloated management. Would Thatcher have approved of £100,000 of public funds for her statue?

Damian Green: Why a forced choice between a Brexity North and a Globalist South would be a false one – and damage our Party

The first of a ConHome series this week on Boris Johnson’s Reset Moment – and what should follow from it.

Jo Gideon: Clean air is a basic need. Not a luxury

Leaving the European Union presents us with a historic opportunity to create a healthier environment for ourselves and future generations.

Chandra Kanneganti: The Coronavirus challenges I’ve seen as a doctor and a councillor

Death is not a statistical data point, and the loss of life of a mother, a father, a child, and a key worker can never be filled.

Abi Brown: How planning reforms can help level up Red Wall cities such as Stoke-on-Trent

De-industrialisation has led to a high number of empty properties. But we now have more housing completions than the average London borough.

Jonathan Gullis: At last, we have an Education Secretary willing to say that the emperor has no clothes

We have a university system where 34 per cent of graduates don’t get graduate jobs and which subsidises unlimited courses in media studies.

Where CCHQ should move to

Our readers’ top choice was the same as Number Ten’s for the Lords: York. But a good case was made for Coventry – and Warwick University.

Building the Blue Wall: Stoke South

The fourth in our series: how the 2017 generation of winners from Labour increased their majorities.

Eddie Hughes: Our values must drive CCHQ. That means moving it to a town or small city – not a big one.

Going from the metropolitan bubble in London to another one elsewhere would be pointless. What about Derby, Stoke or York instead?

Robert Alden: CCHQ should be relocated to Birmingham

Good quality office space is far cheaper in Birmingham than London, and the quality of life is higher. The West Midlands is full of battleground parliamentary seats.