National Secular Society takes Woking council to court over ‘worshipper-only’ free parking, which it claims is discriminatoryMany churches give out holy communion wine and wafers to the faithful. In Woking, Surrey, congregations can also queue up to ha…
Gay marriage: it’s only fair | Michael Bloomberg
I backed same-sex weddings in New York for the sake of democracy. British lawmakers should tooAcross Europe and the US support for same-sex marriage is growing, and for a simple reason: it is consistent with democracy’s promise of equal rights for all …
Online child abuse: perpetrators and voyeurs must both feel the full force of law | Observer editorial
Those who choose to view disgusting images are as guilty as the abusersMark Bridger, the killer of April Jones, was a consumer of unspeakably vile material on the internet that depicted horrific abuse of children. Britain’s child protection and obsceni…
If the RAF can accept my gender transition, why can’t the media?
Ayla Holdom is a search and rescue pilot in the Royal Air Force. When she began her gender transition, she was supported by friends and family and by her employer. Yet she, like teacher Lucy Meadows, who killed herself in March, has had to endure artic…
Thousands of childcare places lost as Labour says poorest families hardest hit
Fewer childminders and Sure Start centres as birth rate in England continues to climbThe number of childcare places available to parents in England has gone down sharply and providers have been dropping out of the industry, according to Ofsted figures….
Legal aid residency tests ‘will leave migrant children destitute’
Children’s Society claims proposed changes in the rules could leave trafficked or abandoned children at risk of exploitationAbandoned migrant and trafficked children will be left destitute and at risk of exploitation if the government goes ahead with a…
Older people are abusing alcohol more than the young
Big Lottery Fund invests £25m to tackle the drink problems among ageing baby-boomersIn her two-bedroom flat close to the centre of Brighton, Ann, 72, has not yet cleared out her late husband’s clothes, but she’s given away his wine. “My daughters have…
Women’s minister to offer parents guide to boosting girls’ ambitions
Maria Miller to launch info packs to help guide daughters’ career choices amid falling numbers of women in executive positionsMinisters are planning to produce information packs for the parents of daughters to help them to bring up “aspirational” young…
A&E crisis: surge in cancelled operations
Doctors raise alarm as surgery is hit, after figures show cancellations have reached a 10-year highMore planned operations were cancelled in the first few months of this year than for any similar period in almost a decade, it has been revealed, as seni…
A&E crisis: ‘It’s stressful and wrong to cancel surgery on the day’ | Norman Williams
It is vital that access to surgery must be provided when it benefits patients most, says the president of the Royal College of SurgeonsRecord numbers of NHS elective operations are being cancelled for non-clinical reasons. Any form of surgery is an imp…