Sales of reference books are sinking fast as we turn online for the answers to life's big – and small – questions. But our civilisation would be infinitely poorer if Roget's, Brewer's and Fowler's go out of print, argues John Walsh

The role of central government politicians is to ensure that laws are clear and precise. Police forces have a clear mandate to apply them, free from interference. Once prime ministers, metropolitan mayors or home secretaries believe they are better placed than highly trained police officers to do the job and use their access to the media to make cheap political points, we are on a downward slide.

Using a computer, like pottery and unicycling, is a fairly solitary pursuit. Unencumbered by meddlesome advice, we develop our own peculiar methods of operating them and ways of navigating around their screens – so it's not surprising that watching someone else at the keyboard can be unexpectedly hilarious.

Given what the riots have shown us about England, perhaps the best place for a liberal is in Alex Salmond's Scotland

Starkey’s arrogance was his undoing. He began to bluster, and the more he blustered, the more ruthless his baby adversary became

It is impossible to think about the latest depressing figures on youth unemployment without remembering the riots.

The overwhelming number of people who have been dragged through the courts appear to be those for whom tertiary education is as unlikely as a trip to the Moon

Lord Oakeshott, the Lib Dem peer, warned over the weekend that the UK has already wasted £14bn on the war in Afghanistan and cannot afford to continue spending more on the military operation at a time of such acute financial crisis.

Court sentences and communities seek revenge, but that merely perpetuates a damaging cycle

OMG (as my children might say), what a week it has been. Unbelievable scenes on the streets of our major cities, non-stop trawling of the news for the latest (accurate) information, and constant updating of stories.

The number of women dying in childbirth every year is 10 times higher than the civilians killed in the conflict. But a new clinic is offering a brighter future

They didn't do bestseller lists in Richard Jefferies' day, but even if they had, it's hard to imagine him submitting to the publicity interviews and book signings faced by the modern commercial author.

Whatever spin teachers, educators and politicians put on the results of the latest primary school tests one thing is clear. One in three 11-year-olds – that is 183,000 boys and girls – failed to achieve the basic skills in reading, writing and maths that they will they need to benefit from the secondary education they will begin in September.