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The virtual world can bring a kind of friendship and a kind of connection, even to the grieving. But it can also facilitate exploitation of very human needs, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff

Those who insist on spending cuts are those who are never hurt by them. Time to be brave – and take a new tack, says Guardian columnist Andy Beckett

Four years ago, the party was the most popular in the country – but old rifts have fractured it again. Now the time is ripe for a reset, says historian and journalist Katja Hoyer

Jacinta Allan’s plan to legislate the right to flexible work has sent many Office People into a panic. But they’re fighting an imaginary enemy

THE INDEPENDENT VIEW: Editorial: Despite interest rates being brought to their lowest level in more than two years, a combination of meagre economic growth, high government spending and U-turns over proposed welfare cuts has trapped Labour in a fiscal straitjacket. But the chancellor must remember that good policy is good…

Editorial: Gordon Brown says gambling is undertaxed, Andy Burnham wants the power to block new gaming centres – and ministers should pay attention

Editorial: Scotland’s ruling party has lost two charismatic women in Kate Forbes and Mhairi Black. The future offers both rewards and dangers

Though the weapons I campaigned against remain terrifying, I doubt we can disarm unilaterally. That should be the stuff of vital debate: right now, it isn’t, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

If you can’t be in public without trying to control other people’s every movement, maybe you should just stay at home

Unlike many of my contemporaries on the opposite side of the political divide, I don’t underestimate Angela Rayner. Which other figure active in politics today could leave school at 16 — without any qualifications — and then rise to become one of the most powerful Cabinet ministers in the land?

The figures simply don’t add up for higher education in England and Wales. Yet delusional politicians from all parties seem intent on avoiding the issue, says Guardian columnist Zoe Williams