The Week
National and International news

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

Dig for victory
Gisela Stuart clears the decks as the election battle commences
Gisela Stuart

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

Holy orders vs Last Orders
Lord Beaumont revels in the lives of the saints, Turkish art – and a dining club reunion
Lord Beaumont

Putting fire in their bellies
Sam Macrory wonders whether the combination of a complacent Blair, combative Howard and congenial Kennedy could confound the pollsters on May 5
Sam Macrory

Man who changed the world
MPs from each of the main parties pay tribute to Pope John Paul II, and assess the legacy he leaves to the Catholic church and the world at large
Kevin McNamara, Ann Widdecombe and Brian Cotter

A countryman’s counsel
A high-flying lawyer who ‘opted out’ for a life of smallholding self-sufficiency,John Jackson leads the Countryside Alliance with zeal, discovers Kate Hoey
Kate Hoey

The age of unreason
Britain will lose its reputation as a centre for a wide range of scientific research unless violent animal rights protests are curbed, says Jonathan Djanogly
Jonathan Djanogly

Animal instincts
Current animal welfare legislation is no longer adequate and needs an overhaul to ensure real care and protection is in place for animals, argues Lord Soulsby
Lord Soulsby

A new agency for animals
Debby Reynolds explains how Britain’s vets are raising their game to ensure that the very highest standards of animal welfare are met
Debby Reynolds

Overtaken by terror
Despite Tony Blair’s boasts of a strong economy and second term public service reforms, the last Parliament will be forever associated with the Iraq war and the government’s efforts to tackle terror, writes Peter Riddell
Peter Riddell

Members go off-message
Labour’s 1997 election landslide filled the Commons benches with loyal Blairites, but Lord Norton argues that in the 2001 Parliament the cracks began to show
Lord Norton

Close-up on the coffers
Recent legislation means the Electoral Commission can now keep a closer eye on the conduct of political parties. Chris Welford explains
Chris Welford

Visionary gleams on the wane
Tony Blair stands on the cusp of history, with Labour campaigning to win an unprecedented third term. Lord Morgan explores why the party has never before governed for a generation and asks whether the prime minister can slay the ghosts of 1951 and 1970
Lord Morgan

Steel tempered with kindness
As a former chief whip Lord Graham could not have been better placed to see the real Jim Callaghan close-up. Here he fondly remembers the late former leader
Lord Graham

Dialogue
subject: BBC Charter renewal
Lord McNally and Baroness Buscombe

Cobbett's Corner
Chris Moncrieff on the highlights of the last parliament
Chris Moncrieff

Electionwatch
A round up of recent and forthcoming elections

Backtracks...
This week in history