Charlie Edwards: Don’t let the unions lead us off the rails this Christmas

Strikes are causing misery for train passengers. But don’t expect condemnation from Corbynista MPs – they are funded by the RMT.

John Bald: The effective teaching of multiplication tables is long overdue

Does the National Education Union want teenagers to count on their fingers? That’s the consequence if one severs mathematics education from its base in arithmetic.

Phil Taylor: Fire deaths dropped 28 per cent last year – but don’t expect to hear that number being reported

The Grenfell Tower tragedy was a shocking exception to a trend of improvement in safety. Fire deaths are down below 250 a year, the second lowest on record.

Jonathan Clark: Is it time to sweep away our political parties – and clear the decks for Leave v Remain?

The electorate are less and less convinced by such arguments about party identity and destiny. Far underground, the tectonic plates are moving.

Sponsored Post: Kevin Courtney: Ministers should accept the independent pay review body to increase teachers pay

Teacher supply is in crisis. Recruitment targets are not being met – in some key subjects they are being woefully missed.

Alistair Lexden: Commemorating Baldwin, the Prime Minister who pioneered ‘One Nation’

The Conservative Party’s official historian was speaking at the unveiling of a new statue to the former Party leader in his home town of Bewdley today.

Henry Hill: McCluskey suggests that Unite may support Labour standing in Northern Ireland

It’s a Labour special: Leonard contradicts Corbyn to rule out support for second Scottish referendum; and Jones offers cash boost to firms affected by Brexit.

Lewis Baston: A bolder Callaghan would have won the 1978 election

So much of what now appears inevitable could have been very different – at least in the short term.

Penny Mordaunt: London has some serious problems. It needs a serious candidate – namely, Andrew Boff.

I’m backing him to be the next Mayor of London. He will work tirelessly to deliver and he will lead.

Tony Janio: The Momentum takeover in Brighton and Hove

Following allegations of intimidation several Labour councillors have indicated they are standing down.

Robert Halfon: We need a workers’ party that’s like a modern trade union – not a trivial Nando’s scheme.

We must change our organisation, making it more democratic, accessible for the lower paid and a place in which the most disadvantaged can feel at home.

Claire Ward: If the Conservatives really want to work with trade unions, they will back one in its struggle with Boots

Despite having over 2000 members in Boots (out of 27,000 members across the UK), the PDAU has been denied collective bargaining rights.

Henry Hill: Trades unions clash with front-runner for Welsh Labour leadership

Also: Sinn Fein defend senator’s ‘unionist’ credentials; Plaid bid to outlaw mockery of the Welsh language; and London and Edinburgh face Supreme Court showdown.

Birmingham is a key test – perhaps the most important one – for the Tories in the local elections

We open a three-part series this week on May’s elections, beginning today with the cities that are all-out.

Mike Clancy: How the trade unions can help drive up productivity

Reversing the decline of collective bargaining would help to curb extortionate executive pay, under-investment and short-termism.