Today’s furore around the deaths of two boys is completely devoid of evidence

Change in the long term sometimes demands unpalatable action in the short term

We have laws so we don’t live in a society that allows people to mete out their own justice

Dr Andrew Wakefield, who suggested the MMR vaccine was causing autism, was found to have acted unethically today.  Supporters outside the General Medical Council’s headquarters in London, where the hearings took place, chanted, “Wakefield’s right!”. The supporters were apparently mainly parents of the allegedly affected children. The thing is, his research and conclusions have already [...]

Giles Fraser argues in opposition to Ariane Sherine that “it is nonsense to pretend one can leave children alone until they can choose their values for themselves” (Comment, 2 December), but her campaign is concerned with religion, not values. Dr Fraser demonstrates one of the key problems atheists have with religion: the arrogance with which [...]

I’ve thought for a while now that the result of the next general election could be a hung parliament, and I am pleased to learn that the Observer has caught up with me. The reason the Observer has only now considered this outcome, whereas I have been at liberty to vocalise my belief that it [...]

I find it increasingly frustrating that nobody ever asks the simple question, makes the simple point, or offers the simple answer (but, as I am thinking of politicians, I really don’t expect the latter). For example, concerning MPs expenses, I know of no journalist who has asked the straightforward question: “why do you not claim [...]

My initial reaction to the letter sent by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to the British National Party was to welcome it. Recently I’ve become more and more frustrated with people who believe that simply declaring the BNP ‘fascists’ or ‘Nazis’ – and urging those who never had any intention of voting for them [...]

It is commonly asserted that only the market possesses the capacity to foster innovation, and that any approach invested with socialist, or similar, principles inevitably leads to uniformity. Drab, grey images of the Soviet Union are contrasted with the supposedly lustrous shine of metal and glass that characterises New York and Tokyo as physical evidence [...]

At a conference today about ‘shapeing our ageing society’, I was struck by the lack of revelation and innovation, especially at an event attended by tens of third sector – voluntary, community and charitable – organisations. For example, if anybody there really needed to be told that being active and eating well improves an individual’s [...]