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Thursday 24 April 2014
Miriam González Durántez: the Michelle Obama of the coalition

Miriam González Durántez, wife of Nick Clegg, talks to students at a careers event hosted by the Inspiring Women campaign. Photograph: Mark Large/AFP/Getty Images

Anne Perkins: Unlike Samantha Cameron and Kate Middleton, Nick Clegg's partner refuses to play the silent, demure 20th-century wife Continue reading...
Posted by
Anne Perkins
12.15 EDT
Wednesday 23 April 2014
David Cameron and Ed Miliband don't matter as much as they think

'No one noticed William Hague's wit when he was leader. The political context destroyed him and rendered him weird.' Photograph: Don McPhee for the Guardian

Steve Richards: Both leaders are hiring Barack Obama aides for the 2015 election, but Britain will be voting for a party, not a president or a personality Continue reading...
Posted by
Steve Richards
01.00 EDT
Saturday 19 April 2014
An Easter message from the Rev David Cameron

chris riddell 20/04/2014 Photograph: Observer

Chris Riddell on the policy panics in the Tory party
Posted by
Chris Riddell
19.05 EDT
Wednesday 16 April 2014
Labour is doomed if it buys into Tory austerity, so let's spell out an alternative

'Ed Balls has a plan. He just does not feel able to spell it out to party members. It is called embracing Tory austerity.' Photograph: Richard Kaminski/Rex Features

Diane Abbott: A Labour government that implements cuts on the scale set out by George Osborne will struggle to last more than one term Continue reading...
Posted by
Diane Abbott
04.41 EDT
Monday 14 April 2014
We need a women's minister with clout, not another tokenistic exercise

'Many are asking if minister for straight women wouldn't be a more accurate job title for Nicky Morgan.' Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Lola Okolosie: It's nice to think we have a minister who speaks for women but I fear this is more about the government upping its female quota Continue reading...
Posted by
Lola Okolosie
09.51 EDT
Sunday 6 April 2014
The Conservatives' onshore wind sums are all at sea

'EU support of onshore wind has caused dramatic falls in cost.' Photograph: Andrzej Krauze for the Guardian

Chris Huhne: The policy of backing luxury renewables such as offshore wind power simply will not add up to cheaper energy bills Continue reading...
Posted by
Chris Huhne
10.48 EDT
Nightmares a-plenty for the prime minister

Chris Riddell 06/04/2014 Photograph: Observer

Chris Riddell on the mounting pressures on David Cameron
Posted by
Chris Riddell
19.05 EDT
Saturday 29 March 2014
Workers are treated with contempt. This should be Labour's focus

Thousands marched through Liverpool this month in protest against cuts to services. Photograph: David Ellison

Deborah Orr: Ed Miliband's 'cost-of-living crisis' is just a symptom of a market system not delivering the prosperity its proponents promise Continue reading...
Posted by
Deborah Orr
03.30 EDT
Tuesday 25 March 2014
The NHS fraud story would be terrible, if it were true

'This government has denigrated the NHS so persistently that I find it impossible to believe it didn’t have a hand in these trumped-up fraud claims.' Illustration: Belle Mellor

Zoe Williams: The evidence of fraud is weak but the damage is done: the health service is made to look like an impossible dream Continue reading...
Posted by
Zoe Williams
15.09 EDT
Monday 24 March 2014
The latest tuition fees blunder shows the need for mass student protest

'So many students would never earn enough to pay back their debt.' Photograph: Pete Riches/Demotix/Corbis

Michael Chessum: Of course the new system of fees will cost more to run than the old one, yet Labour and the NUS let the coalition away with it Continue reading...
Posted by
Michael Chessum
09.13 EDT
Friday 21 March 2014
The coalition solution: let them eat Lamborghinis

Food banks are ‘part of Britain’s marvellous tradition of charitable giving – as much as adorable urchins'. Illustration: Noma Bar

Marina Hyde: From food banks to pensions, from beer to bingo, this week taught us a lot about what Tories and Lib Dems really think of us Continue reading...
Posted by
Marina Hyde
14.46 EDT
Higher education shouldn't be a market. No wonder tuition fees are failing

'By 2042, £90bn of the £200bn owed in student loans will remain unpaid. That’s a lot of schools, hospitals, rail lines, houses.' Photograph: Warrick Page/Getty Images

Hugh Muir: First thoughts: All that pain, all that argument, to bring in the £9,000 fees cap – now it's close to costing us more than it's made. So why bother?
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Posted by
Hugh Muir
06.33 EDT
Wednesday 19 March 2014
Osborne's budget is jam today – and damn tomorrow

Remember Lehman Brothers? A decade after the bank crashed, the average Briton's wages will finally return to where they were in 2008. Photo: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

None of the parties wants to admit the austerity lined up for voters – 2015's election winner will have lots of slashing to do
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Posted by
Aditya Chakrabortty
17.21 EDT
Sunday 9 March 2014
The staged battles of the coalition disguise their genuine conflicts

'The coalition spins the illusion that there are spectacular smashes between the contestants, but no one ends up in hospital.' Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Andrew Rawnsley: 'Play fights' between the Tories and the Lib Dems mask a bitter behind-the-scenes punch-up over the budget Continue reading...
Posted by
Andrew Rawnsley
01.50 EST
Tuesday 4 March 2014
No 10's Ukraine gaffe shows City profits come before principled diplomacy

Cabinet papers photographed outside No 10 revealed the government would not insist on trade sanctions against Russia over Ukraine. Photograph: Steve Back/Rex

Jonathan Freedland: First thoughts: News that Britain will not enforce sanctions against Russia is no surprise: the government defaults to protecting the money men
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Posted by
Jonathan Freedland
05.58 EST