Robert Peston: ‘I wore my favourite Gaultier coat to a party conference and somebody nicked it’

ITV’s political editor on coping with obsessive-compulsive disorder, belatedly publishing his first novel, and why he longs for a lost England

Mike George obituary

Writer and campaigner on social justice and the environment who developed the understanding of consumer vulnerability

The big idea: why we shouldn’t be levelling up

The government’s push to bridge Britain’s geographical divide is unlikely to work – and there are better policies that will

Why are books on the English school curriculum still in the grip of straight, white men?

Children in diverse societies need a broader range to learn about themselves and the world, says author Jeffrey Boakye

Workplaces as run down as parliament would cause picketing, says Jess Phillips

Labour MP tells Hay festival that Palace of Westminster is ‘falling apart’ and would be condemned if it were any other building

Anthony Horowitz: I’m still waiting to see benefit of Brexit

Author who has previously called himself a Conservative tells Hay festival he ‘can’t understand’ the government’s actions

Digested week: Queen’s absence makes this republican’s heart grow fonder

With bad news all around, it was hard not to smile when the monarch, cheerful in pink, visited Chelsea flower show

Tenants by Vicky Spratt review – empty rooms and empty promises

This astute analysis examines the toxic lottery of Britain’s housing crisis and the devastating outcomes of having no fixed abode

The big idea: should we abolish the Treasury?

This powerful institution is filled with brilliant people – but is it holding Britain back?

Poem of the week: Importents by Naomi Foyle

Heavy rain, dead starlings and a pale pink tsunami of ‘penis fish’ foreshadow the election of a dictator

Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK by Simon Kuper – review

A penetrating analysis of the connections that enabled an incestuous university network to dominate Westminster and give birth to Brexit is perceptive and full of surprises

Digested week: practice doesn’t make perfect for Boris Johnson apology

PM still did not sound entirely sincere over Partygate – and later proved repentance was skin deep

Matt Hancock to publish tell-all book on government’s handling of pandemic

The former health secretary will look back at how he and his fellow ministers handled the coronavirus outbreak

An evil bear, a tinpot Churchill, a vile virus… My sketch show for our times

The Tories won by a landslide, Brexit got done, Covid loomed… and the Observer cartoonist Chris Riddell picked up his pen. Here he tells of his daily ritual

First Lady: Intrigue at the Court of Carrie and Boris Johnson – thinly veiled and thinly drawn

Michael Ashcroft’s unauthorised biography can’t seem to decide whether the prime minister’s wife is a shallow non-entity or a sinister power behind the throne