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Holiday diplomacy is an exercise in soft power, so let’s make the most of this

We have no idea how many people have been killed in Gaza but I would bet my own life that the number is far higher than the 60,000 number the media uses

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