Our contributor questions the conflation of Thatcher’s love of free markets but opposition to other freedoms

This week a motion goes before the union assembly calling for The Mancunion to have a paid editor and a ring-fenced number of issues. Here’s why we’re putting it forward

No politician is perfect, no policy perfect, but in Thatcher’s case the damage caused is difficult to justify.

With increased accusations of voter intimidation and the inequity to allowing a tool to be used that costs hundreds, we ask whether iPads should be allowed

Maya Oppenheim argues why we should actively seek to engage with the community around us, even though we may well be shocked by what we discover

Alex Goldhill explains why he believes current piracy laws need a fundamental change

Andres Porras Chaves looks back on the life of the contentious figure

Shaurna Cameron tells us why she enjoyed her study abroad in LA, and the disappointment she experienced on her return to Manchester

Christian Barrow tells us why students need to consider the worldwide impacts of purchasing recreational drugs

Colin Cortbus says he was right to record a meeting of the ‘Global Aspirations of Women’’ society where a speaker said ‘homosexuals would be killed in an ideal world’

Physics student and Liberal Democrat Sarah Harding recounts a very long week, as she left her lectures behind to campaign in Eastleigh

After the news that UKIP beat Labour and the Conservatives to take 2nd place in the Eastleigh byelection, Arun Mehta looks at the party and members attitudes towards disability

Sophie Guinard tells us her reasons for supporting this year’s STAR/Amnesty Sleepout campaign

Charlotte Green gives her views on the ‘Sussex against Privatisation’ movement

Emma Bean tells us why Tammy Baldwin was one of the most heroic names of 2012

Jak Dyehouse explains why the only way to protest the EDL is with a counter march to theirs

Alex Goldhill explains why he believes the horsemeat scandal has been massively over-exaggerated

Conor McGurran tells us the problems he sees with the government’s much debated NHS reforms

Ella Speakman and William Chambers debate the pros and cons of introducing alcohol free halls

Sam Dumitriu tells us that minimum alcohol pricing won’t fix the country’s alcohol problem