The Agenda

Chamber made of sterner stuff?
The parliamentary system may not suit all tastes but it still provides the ultimate test, finds Matt Mercer
Matt Mercer

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

Commons Diary
The beauty of the English countryside and some diaphanous fashions send Edward Garnier into momentary reverie during an otherwise relentless round of dinners, debates – and digging
Edward Garnier

Lords Gallery
Andrew Evans reports on key proceedings in the House of Lords
Andrew Evans

Lords Diary
The Offender Management Bill bedevils a week in which Lord Faulkner explores our royal and rail heritage
Lord Faulkner

An anorak’s apotheosis
Bringing the same obsessive interest to politics as he does the terraces of Old Trafford, Michael Crick has assumed the prestigious title of Newsnight political editor. He talks to Sam Macrory
Sam Macrory

Death by a thousand reviews?
A decade of cuts packaged as ‘reform’ has left morale amongst rank-and-file civil servants at rock bottom, writes Mark Serwotka
Mark Serwotka

Firm hand on the tiller
Ed Balls outlines the careful stewardship that will consolidate the success of the City
Ed Balls

Fine tuning the motor
Heavy-handed regulation of the City will frighten off international investors, warns Mark Hoban
Mark Hoban

Traders in the right template
As well as light-touch regulation the City needs workers with the right skills, says Julia Goldsworthy
Julia Goldsworthy

The end of the affair
The City once saw New Labour as a breath of fresh air, says David Parsley – but not any more
David Parsley

Protection from plunder
Michael Meacher wants to see tax laws revised to discourage short-termism and asset-stripping
Michael Meacher

Private equity, common good
Brooks Newmark stands up for the private equity industry
Brooks Newmark

A circle around the sun
Richard Spring explains the links Conservatives are making with the City of London

Can the golden age continue?
The disparity between pay in the financial sector and in the wider economy threatens the City, says Mark Field
Mark Field

A hunch and a number-crunch
Philip Hollobone found a career in the City stood him in remarkably good stead for life as an MP
Philip Hollobone

Gordon's golden rulers
Peter Riddell on how the process of appointment to the Monetary Policy Committee could be improved
Peter Riddell

Looking for a leitmotif
How is Labour’s decade in power viewed on the Continent, and what do Europeans make of Gordon Brown? Peter Sturm offers some answers
Peter Sturm

Funding a future
Barry Sheerman meets a mother whose determination to help her dyslexic son led her to take specialist teacher training and head a charity to campaign for better educational provision
Barry Sheerman

A truly august architect
Famous for the Gothic splendour of Westminster, Augustus Pugin is exciting renewed interest, says Catriona Blaker
Catriona Blaker

London rejoins the space age
Alan Keen is thrilled by the restoration of a London icon to the glory he remembers as a child
Alan Keen

Campaigning from the heart
Lembit Öpik explains how a personal bereavement galvanised him into lobbying for a charity
Lembit Öpik

A passage to Cyberabad
Derek Wyatt discovers a wealth of IT innovation in India and calls for more academic exchanges
Derek Wyatt

Time to tax capital brains
Ian Gibson looks at what the knowledge economy means for education and employment in Britain
Ian Gibson

Special delivery socialist
Early fatherhood transformed Alan Johnson from a happy-go-lucky crooner to a penurious postman, before a modern approach to union leadership brought him to Parliament – and ministerial office

Electionwatch
A round-up of recent and forthcoming elections

Cobbett's Corner
Chris Moncrieff takes a wry look at British politics
Chris Moncrieff

A light that never dimmed
Sir Patrick Cormack offers an appreciation of Lord Renton who, at the time of his death, was Westminster’s longest-serving parliamentarian
Sir Patrick Cormack MP

Aung San as Aunt Sally
A new biography of Aung San Suu Kyi makes unsubstantiated criticisms of the Burmese opposition leader, says John Bercow
John Bercow