The Week
National and International news

Appoint of order
Robin Oakley on the latest report from the standards watchdog
Robin Oakley

Commons Gallery
Daniel Forman reports on the week’s key developments in the Commons
Daniel Forman

My Week - Kate Hoey
Handbrake turns in heels: The former sports minister could do with a double – but not if it means an ID card
Kate Hoey

Lords Gallery
Andrew Evans rounds up the week's developments in the House of Lords
Andrew Evans

My week - Lord McNally
Oddities of life’s odyssey: Tom McNally catches up with some old friends, and finds age has not withered them
Lord McNally

Revise, revert or revolt?
Instead of focusing the debate, the experiment with new Commons sitting hours seems only to have widened it. Craig Hoy watches ‘mods’ square up to ‘cons’
Craig Hoy

Cover story: commons sitting hours
Family commitments, constituency obligations and transport issues all come into play when considering Commons sitting hours. Here are excerpts from submissions to the modernisation committee which display a wide range of views

Family first
Peter Luff discusses 21st century religion and politics with Cormac Murphy-O’Connor
Peter Luff

Flirting with tough love
Alan Jones assesses the three main parties’ efforts to sound the most hard-hitting in their plans to defeat Britain’s ‘sick note culture’
Alan Jones

From welfare to workfare
Britain is now a world leader in getting people from welfare into work, explains Alan Johnson
Alan Johnson

Dealing a new hand
The Tories would scrap the new deal and introduce more effectivemeasures to get people into work, explains David Willetts
David Willetts

Opportunities knocked
Paul Holmes argues that the new deal’s failings lie in its inflexibility, lack of imagination, and constant use of stick rather than carrot
Paul Holmes

More primary, less tertiary
The country’s skills shortage is being worsened by the government’s flawed approach to our schools, writes Chris Woodhead
Chris Woodhead

Papering over the cracks
A glut of quangos and reports threaten to swamp the government’s faltering skills strategy, writes Peter Kingston
Peter Kingston

Don’t slur the foot soldiers
Stephen Bevan explores the issue of public sector absenteeism
Stephen Bevan

Lessons of war
The 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz must not be forgotten in the continuing fight for justice, democracy and tolerance, writes Louise Ellman
Louise Ellman

Closing the floodgates
Britain must not show complacency towards the forces of nature, writes Baroness Young
Baroness Young

Dialogue: Voting age
Matthew Green and Charles Hendry on the voting age
Matthew Green and Charles Hendry

Electionwatch
Election round up

Cobbett’s corner
Chris Moncrieff looks at recent events
Chris Moncrieff

Backtracks
This week in history