Five things the Olympics got wrong
Home Counties ticket holders, overblown legacy claims – let’s not be blind to where the London Games didn’t deliver
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The abortion counselling consultation is a con – which is why I pulled out
With a fact-free campaign, Tory MPs are attempting to bring the worst of the US abortion debate to British politics
Top Boy is the real deal
I thought this TV series set in Hackney – where I grew up – might be another cliched urban drama. It rose far above that
UK riots: don’t shut these kids out now
Put the shutters up on the shops, but not in our minds. A punitive and condemning reaction simply mirrors the alienation so many already experience
The militarisation of policing the riots would be a deadly mistake
Yes, we must regain control of the streets, but loose talk about rubber bullets and water cannon will achieve nothing
Let the games begin
It’s a year to the start of the 2012 Olympics. Iain Sinclair, writer and arch critic of the project, takes on Labour’s Tessa Jowell who played a key role in the London bid
Young Londoners still don’t feel police are on their side
Boris Johnson has given youth violence a high profile, but needs to ask whether stop-and-search does more harm than good
The buck has to stop with Sharon Shoesmith
There is no point making scapegoats of frontline staff. A case such as Baby P’s requires top managers to take responsibility
Popularity should not dictate public health policy
Andrew Lansley’s moves on tobacco are welcome – but waiting for a swing in public opinion to act is the counsel of despair
The dead hand of the whips
Debate about legislation is being stifled by party managers forcing MPs to toe the government line, with toxic effect
Blame consumer capitalism, not multiculturalism
David Cameron’s analysis is flawed; its individualism and globalisation that are undermining a strong national identity
Hipsters are agents of social change
The ranks of the skinny-jeaned get endlessly knocked – but I’m grateful for their part in making the lives of gay people easier
Shoppers: put your money where your mouth is
Plenty welcome the arrival of a new supermarket, but those who don’t should spend more at the local shops they value
NHS changes: David Cameron’s dodgy prescription
Cameron’s NHS ‘reforms’ will work not in the interests of staff and patients, as he claims, but very much against them
Seconds out, round one
As billions are expected to be paid out to bankers, Labour MP Diane Abbott argues that the bonus culture is toxic, while libertarian Mark Littlewood disagrees