Protesters gathered in force for the UK state opening of parliament on May 27.
Yui Mok/PA
From rail strike threats to new anti-strike legislation, the Tory election success looks set to bring tensions to the boil in the coming weeks and months.
Is time running out for the NHS?
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The Conservative Party’s plans for an extra £8 billion annual health spending aren’t enough to halt a decline in quality care – never mind transform the NHS.
Holding back the tide.
Hannah McKay/EPA
Six hundred years separate two post-election protests, but the issues at hand are strangely similar and the mistakes too easily repeated.
Youth votes could make a big difference, if they make it to the box.
Julien Behal/PA
Young people could change the outcome in anywhere between 11 and 41 constituencies.
Does this book still exist after Manchester’s clearout?
Tim Brockley
We’ve lost a lot of libraries and a lot of books since 2010. The UK can’t face any more cuts.
The continuation of Barnett is sure to meet opposition from other parties.
Danny Lawson/PA
From autonomy to responsibility: the SNP’s manifesto goes beyond the Scottish border.
Foodbank volunteers have their hands full with demand on the rise.
Andrew Matthews/PA Wire
Research into the rise of food banks and their usage shows they are entirely linked to demand and not supply.
Too much of a squeeze?
keenteegardin/flickr
The SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon says austerity has held the economy back. Is she right?
The UK economy is more sleepy than happy.
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The main parties are spending most of their time arguing over the speed and extent of cuts, when they should be talking about growth.
Dominic Lipinski /PA Wire
The Liberal Democrats’ commitment to austerity will help cut the deficit, but likely come at the expense of growth.
Britannia rule the waves – subject to spending priorities.
Stefan Rousseau/PA
The Conservatives can’t quite figure out how to both cut defence spending and procure new kit the UK can actually use.
Why don’t they trust me?
Jonathan Brady/PA
Both major parties have tried to address their key weaknesses head on – but it’s too late to change voters’ perceptions.
Not an economic policy dream team.
Anthony Devlin/PA Wire
The UK’s economic performance can be spun in different ways. Here, the Coalition’s economic record is broken down.
Popular accounts add to the clouds gathering over Greece’s parliament.
EPA/Orestis Panagiotou
Persistent misconceptions over the nature of the Greek bail-out play a subtle but key role in sustaining a damaging mythology – and preventing a viable treatment of the crisis.
Are we really?
David Levene/Rota
Five years of Coalition government later, it is clear that the poorest have paid most dearly as a result of various tax and benefit changes.
Plaid Cymru will appeal to voters who oppose austerity.
Matt Dunham/AP
Plaid’s numbers on growth add up, but their policies could end up costing the taxpayer.
One different wave lengths.
EPA/Stephanie Pilick
The advocates (and beneficiaries) of austerity are succeeding in cornering the country worst hit by the euro crisis.
Do you dare gaze into the future?
Matthew Paulson
The political to-and-fro after George Osborne’s budget failed to ignite political imaginations. Maybe because all parties are struggling to rationalise the hole government coffers.
Problems on the production line.
Peter Macdiarmid/PA Wire
What the chancellor didn’t mention is that UK GDP per person is 16% lower than we would have expected on pre-crisis trends and the major factor is lousy productivity growth.
Austerity corner.
Anthony Devlin/PA Wire
Austerity has not been a success for the Chancellor, but that won’t stop him from trying to paint is as such.