The poor bloody infantry: why people join political parties

A new study asks good questions without providing good answers.

Watson quits. Will Labour’s moderates follow his example – or endorse an extremist as Prime Minister?

Only yesterday, Andrew Gimson reported for this site that the party’s Deputy Leader was in deep trouble in his West Bromwich constituency.

Robert Colvile: Here’s how to show that the Left doesn’t have a monopoly on compassion

My new pamphlet for the Centre for Policy Studies sets out a programme which would empower voters truly to Take Back Control.

Neil O’Brien: Corbynomics – and why it means that your house, business and savings don’t really belong to you

In his eyes, you have them only as long as the Government suffers you to have them, and they can be retrospectively taken away if he sees fit.

Alan Mak: Conservatism 4.0 – We must ensure that no-one is left behind by the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The second article in a three-part series explaining why adapting to a society and economy shaped by technology is key.

Alistair Lexden: Forty years ago, Thatcher was assembling her transformative Government

Disraeli defined conservatism as ‘love of country and an instinct for power’, and her successors should strive for her winning fusion of the two.

Cleverly calls on unions to take down hugely influential ‘school cuts’ site that uses ‘misleading’ statistics

Campaigners say the site influenced 871,000 voters and prevented a Conservative majority. The Statistics Authority says its calculations are wrong.

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.