Six of the Best 931

Simon Beard explains the importance of compassion in the public health response to the current pandemic: "The impact of Covid-19 on people’s mental health will depend greatly on how we respond to it. That is why a group of psychologists and I have put together a briefing note through the Association of Liberal Democrat Engineers and Scientists arguing how we could combine health, education and social policy interventions to form a a compassion based approach to recovery and resilience."

"The difficulty in sustaining the assertion that Corbyn might have won, if 'Blairite' officials had not sabotaged the campaign, is that in 2019 Corbyn controlled every part of the party machine, and led Labour to an ignominious defeat." Nick Cohen explains the Corbynites' need to believe their man was betrayed.

"Safeguarding cannot be effective in a Church where the interests and loyalties of clubs and networks predominate over values of justice and truth. The shepherds cannot protect the sheep while occupied by feasting." Janet Fife examines the sexual politics of the Church of England.

For a child, being carefree is intrinsic to a well-lived life argues Luara Ferracioli.

I loved Terry Nation's Seventies TV series Survivors and it seems newly relevant today. Alwyn Turner looks at the political debates that were central to it.

Dorian Lynskey on the apocalyptic appeal of W.B. Yeats's The Second Coming.