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Bill Rodgers: “It’s very difficult, very painful to leave”
35 years after the SDP broke away, Bill Rodgers of the Gang of Four talks to Stephen Bush. It is 35 years since the “Gang of Four” broke away from Labour to form the Social Democratic Party, and the...
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Morning Call: The best from Gibraltar
A selection of the best articles about politics, business and life on the Rock from the last seven days. The Commonwealth Games Federation is in the news, saying it will help Gibraltar overcome any...
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Subtitles used to belong to art-house cinemas – now they’re everywhere, and...
On Channel 4's new foreign drama platform Walter Presents, Spin is French and sexy, and Clan a dark Belgian comedy. Plus: The Real Marigold Hotel. Stand well back. It seems that the BBC’s token...
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Playing the unplayable: the composers whose work and lives were threatened...
An evening of Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Khachaturian. Andrei Zhdanov, the architect of Stalin’s cultural policy, is credited with originating one of the most chilling sentences ever applied to art:...
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Another chapter in the government's sorry treatment of refugees
When the history books are written, David Cameron's lacklustre record on refugees will haunt him. After months of refusing to even provide an answer to the many questions presented to them by the...
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The government denied me disability benefit because I could “probably make a...
I allegedly didn’t look tired enough at my assessment to convince them that my Multiple Sclerosis-induced fatigue is real. It’s probably time for me to give up on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) –...
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Five questions about the Holyrood elections
The result of the forthcoming Holyrood election may not cause a great shock but there is plenty to play for and the future of the country is at stake. There are now fewer than 100 days until Scots go...
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Rhodes isn’t falling at Oxford, but universities’ racist curriculums still...
The Rhodes Must Fall campaign isn’t just about a statue – as much as it suits Rhodes' defenders to act like it is. Cecil Rhodes – or at least the statue of him perched above the entrace of Oriel...
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Is the government neglecting the dedication of foster parents?
Our ministers persist in denigrating foster carers, who provide homes to about 80 per cent of all children in care. Edward Timpson, the Children’s Minister, grew up as the son of foster carers. He...
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As far as disabled people are concerned, the House of Commons is going backwards
For our political institutions to be truly representative, their make-up must bear at least a minimal resemblance to society. This week, MPs from across the political spectrum called for the...
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"It will be like a 1950s election": the 2015 election in review
One Labour frontbencher had predicted the result five years ago - but by accident. “It [the 2015 election] will be like a Fifties election,” one of the Labour leadership contenders told me, gleefully,...
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The latest video from Islamic State was its most menacing warning to Britain yet
This is not the first time IS has appeared to threaten Britain, but the appearance of Tower Bridge and Big Ben in its last video is particularly pointed. It was the final part of the latest Islamic...
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Don’t give up the hunt for the Green Man
Our interactions with trees nourish our inner life, even at the darkest times. Two surprise books arrived to brighten this bleak midwinter, during which we lost some talented people. Less noted here...
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Forget what you think of Doug Richard - the problem is much bigger
Today there is a loophole in our legislation that allows men to purchase girls as young as thirteen each and every day, knowing full well they will virtually never be charged; and if charged, they’re...
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"Viki": A new poem by Anthony Thwaite
"Thirty years later, in the Sheffield synagogue, / I saw you marry Norman, heard the strange sad chants".You came to live with us when I was eight And tried to teach me German: “Anton – Riesengroß...
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Could Portugal give new hope to Europe's warring left?
Jeremy Corbyn certainly thinks that Portugal's new government may be the place to look for politicians hoping to lead Europe in a new direction. Is Portugal the place to look for politicians hoping to...
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Our Premier League is the best in the world. So where are all the good players?
Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar and Suárez are the four best players in the world – but none of them plays here. Bit of a puzzle. Oh, why are we so good? Oh yes we are. The Premier League is the best in the...
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The Conservatives are so committed to the Northern Powerhouse they've moved...
The "Northern Powerhouse" always comes second to the City of London in the Conservatives' order of priorities. On Thursday morning at 09.30am staff were beginning their day at the Sheffield office of...
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Barbie has a new look. Time to celebrate?
Barbie's rebrand is about capitalism far more than feminism. So, Barbie has curves now. Sort of. In an effort to revive their flagging brand, Mattel, makers of the iconic doll fashioned after a...
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What I learned from writing a musical about Jeremy Corbyn's life
And how he can use it to turn his fortunes around. The latest opinion polls are likely to have made Jeremy Corbyn’s spirits sink faster than a puncture to his beloved bicycle. His party is eight...
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