The Tories say austerity is over: this budget will prove it isn’t

Now is the time to invest – not just in northern infrastructure but in the fight against climate crisis, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

Faced with the coronavirus, Boris Johnson must stop playing the invisible man

People want reliable information and reassurance that their government has got a grip: the prime minister must be seen to lead

Can a nation be both open and in control? The UK is about to find out

As talks on trade deals begin, the government should make a virtue of a potential new economic model

Rishi Sunak’s free ports plan reinvents Thatcherism for the Johnson era

Instead of ‘levelling up’ the economy, they would entrench the power of corporations, says historian Quinn Slobodian

‘Go big or go home’ to heal north-south divide, No 10 told

Transport investment alone will not eliminate UK imbalance, former civil service chief tells Boris Johnson

Sajid Javid fires barrage of criticism at Johnson in Commons speech

Former chancellor says plan to make him sack his advisers was not in the national interest

Secondhand by Adam Minter review – the new global garage sale

Does the future lie in charity shops? A study of the global secondhand market carries a green message

England north-south divide set to grow with smaller towns worst hit

Biggest English cities expected to benefit as EY urges policies to address regional imbalances

UK public spending to top £1tn a year, thinktank forecasts

Resolution Foundation says government borrowing will rise to 40% of GDP, surpassing the Tony Blair years

Almost half of all new jobs in England are in south-east – report

ONS data analysed by thinktank IPPR North reveals economic divide in past decade

The Conservatives’ immigration plan puts ideology before economics

The cause of low wages isn’t EU freedom of movement, but the erosion of employment rights and collective bargaining, says writer and researcher Tom Kibasi

Citizens’ wellbeing should be part of G20’s priorities, says report

Thinktank says nations need to focus on social prosperity in the fight against extremism

The new UK immigration rules tell employers to suck it up

Points-based plan makes it hard for low-skilled migrants to work – it pulls up the drawbridge rather than takes back control

UK consumer confidence at highest level since 2009

Households’ optimism over finances and job security rise in February, survey shows

Boris Johnson is determined to break all the iron rules of politics

The PM continues to spurn convention, as the departure of Sajid Javid shows