"Being on the left is supposed to be about unbounded optimism, a belief that what is deemed political..." — Owen Jones

In the 1920s prohibition in the US notoriously failed to tackle alcohol use, led to lethal forms of liquor entering the black market, fuelled organised crime and its associated violence, and wasted public money.

Yet we have learned from the Scottish independence vote and with Brexit what referendums do to our politics. They foster bitter divisions in ways that parliamentary elections tend not to do.

University should foster imagination and creativity, enriching society in the process.

A society should be judged by how it treats its children. A country that fails to invest in its children is imperilling its future.