My challenge to both the Tories and the Official Opposition is simple: let's think again before we plough ahead with these projects. We're a small country that should be bold in its ambition, but not reliant on megaprojects to show the strength of a Government. Britain has a chance to build an economy that not only meets the challenges of the 21st century head-on but creates a better country in the process. We can do without overpriced fighter jets, nuclear weapons and HS2 - let's not miss this opportunity.
The evidence from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons could not be clearer - the state is failing to its duty to protect children. There is not a single prison in the country where a child is safe. As Dr Miller told the local politicians in the 1970s: "You can have the institutions; we are taking the kids."
Young people are not equipped to deal with pornography. It can have a deeply damaging effect on their behaviour and their understanding of consent and healthy relationships. It can distort their views on body image. It can be downright dangerous when it comes to learning about sexual health.
The Government has an opportunity to make a substantial contribution to the national wellbeing with this strategy, let's hope it can seize the moment, and follow through with the right investment of materials, to match the investment of some promising ideas.
If Theresa May really wanted to tackle the "burning injustices" in society, sorting out the food epidemic in Britain from soil to plate should have been a priority. Instead, we are left with a Prime Minister who was able to identify and commentate on a social truth, but when given the opportunity to put things right, presented the public with a manifesto that perpetuated injustice, punished the poor and ignored the modern scourge of malnutrition now becoming the norm in 21st Century Britain.
Here in the UK, the situation that many people find themselves in is that they may be an unwilling ivory owner. They may have a bit of dead elephant on their mantelpiece, maybe a bit of dead elephant in their jewellery box, maybe a bit of dead elephant in their hallway. And, maybe, they don't want it - they didn't buy it, or they bought it before they knew the true cause and effect of buying ivory.
Later that day, my dad went into the hospital for what was to be the last time. It had come to be, from what my mum said, a regular occurrence over the past ten years or so, as he had suffered 12 previous heart attacks. On this occasion, however, when we went into see him, he suffered a final severe heart attack and died while we were at his bedside.
The internet has transformed the way in which extremists radicalise and recruit, enabling them to reach global audiences in ever more dynamic ways. Vulnerable people, often seeking a sense of identity, are then radicalised through online material or groomed for recruitment. The rise in Islamophobic hate crimes leaves Muslims increasingly isolated and susceptible to radicalisation.
In this vlog for HuffPost UK, Rola talks about the launch of CanDo, how people power is the greatest driver of social change, and why we need a smarter solution to deliver humanitarian aid in the 21st Century.
It seems like hardly a month goes by without a sensationalist headline about a white couple being denied a black baby or some internet clickbait from a worthy adopter who can see beyond the colour of their children. It's a topic than intrigues and beguiles.
But, with some planning, it can be turned into a whole holiday on its own. Weave in hikes, lazing on the beach, wine tasting and sampling local cuisine, and you'll experience some of the best California has to offer.
Because politics is so very predictable (and in fact not funny at all) I can already hear the PMQs exchange that with ensue. No doubt they will wheel out Theresa May to remind everyone that because she is a woman the Tories are better so na nah nah nah na. Sadly for the Tories having a woman PM seems to be the end goal rather than the thing that could be beginning of the change. The end goal is not a woman in the top job, the end goal is that all women get to progress.
We need a strong vision that brings together businesses, policymakers, philanthropists, NGOs and society when aiming at creating change. The New Plastics Economy provides such a vision. It is based on a new way of thinking about plastics as an effective global material flow, aligned with the principles of the circular economy. It aims to harness the benefits of plastics while addressing its drawbacks, delivering drastically better economic and environmental outcomes.
There are many small and easy changes we can decide to make to our lives today that can make a very real difference. And next time we marvel at the beauty of places like Galapagos we can proudly know that daily, we are helping to secure their future.
The situation is horrific but not without hope. Grassroots women's rights organisations are the key to tackling this. ActionAid has worked with them in the past to monitor the use and sale of acid, improve laws to make it harder for perpetrators to escape punishment and change the mindsets of people who see this form of violence as an easy way to settle disputes, for example.
It was Nelson Mandela who told us: "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children." If that great man was right, then our country is in a great deal of difficulty. The state of children's health in the UK, and in England in particular, should be a matter for profound concern and concerted action. Sadly under Theresa May's government is isn't.
It's completely unfair on Whittaker to frame this achievement through her gender. She is the thirteenth Doctor, and a formidable actor. As a Doctor Who fan, I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with the role - will she go in Broadchurch's emotionally tortured direction, or give us something more in the vein of her St Trinian's performance? Or something entirely different?
These so-called 'supermum' celebrities being photographed with their toned physiques and perfect hair and immaculate make up, wearing jeans and heels four weeks after giving birth, splashed across every newspaper and online forum you can imagine, only makes normal mums, the ones who are actually doing their very best for their babies themselves, feel like failures when in fact, they are really the supermums.
Can a character traditionally imagined by a male actor suddenly be taken on by a female one? What does gender even mean for a creature with two hearts, the power to regenerate and experience traveling through time and space?
If I paint a particularly bleak picture of a typical summer in the world of fostering, I apologise. Yet these are some of the concerns that preoccupy the UK's 55,000 fostering families as they prepare for the end of term. This summer they will carry much of the burden of caring for society's most vulnerable children alone, with little help from their communities. I just thought you should know.
What has also angered me and many others about this film, is that it simply reflects the huge misconceptions around eating disorders that are already prevalent in our society. For example, Ellen's character is your stereotypical young white woman, who is tragically misunderstood and hit with this hideous anorexic affliction leaving her with an emaciated body frame.
When the UK finally revealed its 'offer' to give EU citizens 'settled status' after Brexit, Theresa May said she "would not want to tear families apart". This was followed shortly afterwards by a statement that EU citizens couldn't possibly have more rights than UK citizens and therefore family reunion was off the table.