Edited by Peter Franklin

To bring state bureaucracy under control follow the Pope

For an example of how not to pursue reform, one need not look beyond our own shores

There is nothing inevitable about the obesity epidemic

America – world famous for its adipose adults and chubby children – appears to have turned a corner in respect to its youngest citizens

Neither Brussels nor Moscow, but international cooperation

For those countries located on the borders of Europe, there is currently no third way between membership of the EU and Russia’s embrace

Heresy of the week: The conspiracy theories are right – secret technologies really are controlling our lives

One way or another we’re interacting with systems designed to gather information about who are and what we do.

Lord Heseltine knows where to put all those extra houses we need

It is ridiculous that we are scrabbling around for land in the South East when the Thames Estuary is in such obvious need of regeneration

Conservatives should follow Edmund Burke in behaviour as well as belief

It is tempting to suggest that Burke and Paine shaped the character as well as the credo of their respective traditions

Coming to a ‘microgrid’ near you: An end to the great energy stitch-up

The big utilities control the grid, but the technology now exists to allow consumers to operate their own ‘microgrids’

Message to Michael Gove: Sport should not be a punishment

The Department for Education has issued guidance in which running is identified as a suitable punishment for misbehaving pupils

Heresy of the week: Sometimes we really do need to trust the experts

In times of crisis, people yearn for clear and simple solutions – and there’s a certain kind of shallow, cynical politician all too willing to indulge the public mood.

Our two-faced tolerant society: Public inclusion and private exclusion

Where the writ of the law runs, huge strides have been made against racism and sexism, but we’re not nearly so nice as we think we are

Here’s one easy way to make money and save the planet

The choice between reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change is a false one

For a dying institution marriage is in remarkably good health, but only for the rich

Among higher income groups marriage has been reinvented as a vehicle for high investment parenting

What will we really do to improve our flood defences?

Getting investment in flood defences back on-track needn’t bankrupt the country.

Heresy of the week: How building more houses could be bad for social mobility

Communities become more conducive to social mobility when the poor live side by side with those in the middle of the income range

Legalised cannabis will find its way to children

Before allowing cannabis to circulate freely in the adult population we have to ask what effect this would have on its availability to children