A spot of word-association. What springs to mind when you read the following: DH Lawrence, Women in Love and Lady Chatterley's Lover? It wouldn't be the wildest guesswork to suggest that Women in Love might be twinned with naked wrestling, Alan Bates and Ollie Reed grappling by the fireside in Ken Russell's 1969 movie, or Lady Chatterley with that 1960 obscenity trial. As for Lawrence himself, he has become almost totally synonymous with sex – an earthy, unrestrained, would-you-let-your-servants-read-it kind of sex, that is against the sniggering Carry On tradition of the British psyche. No wonder the French seem to appreciate him more than we do.

Nick Clegg earned plaudits from the former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown for his masochistic decision to appear in a television debate with an audience of 20 students.

As Ed Miliband delivers his speech to the Labour Party conference today, he will need to keep in mind that a newly elected leader has only a few days in which to define who he is, or have his enemies do it for him. In his case, the most dangerous enemies are the people who supported his brother.

Jacqui Smith, the first woman to be home secretary, was one of the best -known sitting MPs to be voted out of Parliament but Glenda Jackson held on with a tiny majority.

How differently things could have turned out. It might not, for instance, have fallen to Jamie Oliver to have renovated our school dinners. And – who knows? – perhaps David Cameron would be campaigning on the platform of free goji berries for all.

There have been few more sickening sights in politics than the spectacle of Nick Griffin celebrating his election to the European Parliament.

At a time when both comedy sketch shows and Saturday night television have reached something of a nadir, it is always comforting to come back to the familiar joys of Morecambe and Wise.

Dame Helen Mirren is to return to the stage for the first time in six years. The Oscar-winning actress, 63, will star in a three-month run of Jean Racine's 17th-century drama, Phèdre, at the National Theatre.

Gordon Brown suffers a damaging new setback to his faltering authority today, with a poll showing that he is less trusted with the economy than any other leader of a major Western nation.

Beginning with a page-long list of what we didn't have ("no supermarkets, no motorways, no teabags...") and did have in 1945 ("heavy coins, heavy shoes, heavy suitcases"), Kynaston deftly combines social surveys with personal reminiscences in this absorbing account. We see modern Britain in embryo. Kynaston quotes Mass Observation reports ranging from Butlin's Filey, where the day began with a sung reveille ("There's a new day a-tumblin' in"), to a survey of views on institutional religion: "It's all right in a way as long as it's not overdone." Due to a mix-up in her exam results, the young Glenda Jackson experienced the "contemptible" attitudes to failure and success in the 11-plus. A select few could enjoy the first TV personalities, such as comedian Richard Hearne and telly chef Philip Harben. Even the BBC's head of audience research couldn't see their appeal: "Magazine programmes are amusing enough, but never of sufficient appeal to warrant turning the set on specially." The new NHS in 1948 made the Manc-hester Guardian worry that welfare would "eliminate selective elimination", leading to an increase in the congenitally deformed. The Mirror's response - "We are leading the world in Social Security" - would have a different implication if it ran today. ......... CH