Speeding cars, pornographic art, binge-drinking and the suitability of Messrs Blair and Brown to lead the country have been the pressing issues for Telegraph online readers to mull over this week.

With Tony Blair addressing his last Labour party conference as prime minister we asked whether you felt the outgoing PM had been a good or bad leader for Britain.

More than 170 comments flooded in, many expressing doubts over his legacy, with a number of readers citing Iraq as a major policy failure.

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Posted at: 00:01 | Permalink | Comments 10

The single biggest factor behind road accidents is a failure to look properly, according to Government statistics which show breaking the speed limit is a contributory factor in only 5 per cent of accidents.

However, the impact of speeding increases to 17 per cent when the number of motorists driving too fast for the prevailing conditions is taken into consideration and accounts for 29 percent of fatal accidents.

Do you think the Government has focussed too heavily on speeding and neglected other dangerous habit in order to justify the use of speed cameras?

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Posted at: 00:01 | Permalink | Comments 163

Are you worried that the UK could slump into recession next year?

The majority of economists think the economy is in good shape, but there is a growing contingent who disagree. One of these experts, David Warburton, has predicted that Britain will suffer a recession next year.

He believes that a combination of factors, including record levels of indebtedness, overpriced houses, a growing government deficit and the prospect of a slowdown over the waters in America could deliver a serious blow to the UK’s prospects.

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Posted at: 22:18 | Permalink | Comments 35

Charles Saatchi has once again ruffled feathers in the art world with a new exhibition in London described as “pornographic” by senior members of the Royal Academy – and some of the artists featured themselves.

The exhibition, entitled “USA today”, includes a work depicting a young teenage girl performing sex acts and a fabric sculpture of a man adorned with a giant phallus and the words “I want kids”.

Does Saatchi’s choice of artists make a mockery out of art?

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Posted at: 00:01 | Permalink | Comments 39

Romania and Bulgaria are set to join the European Union as planned at the start of next year, despite ongoing concerns over corruption and crime in the formerly communist states.

Strict conditions will be in place once the two join - including the threat of withheld EU farm subsidies unless proper accounting systems for the payments are in place by March and animal welfare and food hygiene measures are improved.

Do you think the EU should wait until potential members have met more rigorous standards before granting admission to the bloc?

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Posted at: 00:01 | Permalink | Comments 45

Are the new licensing laws curbing binge drinking and converting us into a nation of civilised quaffers?

Pub groups say our habits are changing. Enterprise Inns claims there is now “a more relaxed atmosphere, particularly around pub closing times” and late night bar operator Regent Inns, which rather suspiciously had to introduce plastic bottles, has blamed the new laws for a drop off in trading.

The smoking ban in Scotland is also encouraging people to eat more and drink less, All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers has found.

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Posted at: 00:04 | Permalink | Comments 12

Tony Blair will today deliver his final Labour party conference speech as prime minister, bidding what is likely to be an emotional farewell to the party he propelled into power nearly ten years ago.

During his leadership, Mr Blair has undertaken sweeping reform of the health and education systems, weathered a series of sleaze scandals, overseen a period of economic stability but spiralling personal debt and led Britain into war in Iraq to support the controversial “war on terror”.

Overall, has Mr Blair been good or bad for Britain?

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Posted at: 00:01 | Permalink | Comments 175

Gordon Brown's hopes of being acclaimed as Tony Blair's successor at this week's Labour conference have been dented by a poll showing a sharp fall in the number of voters who think he would be a good prime minister.

The Chancellor, who will today stake his claim to No 10 by promising to govern from the centre and not retreat from New Labour, lags behind David Cameron, the Tory leader, and even Mr Blair as the voters' preferred choice.

Do you think Mr Brown would make a capable prime minister?

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Posted at: 10:01 | Permalink | Comments 132

Islam, the Pope, interfaith dialogue, overpriced homes, underweight girls and the perilous appeal of Top Gear have all sparked fierce debate among online Telegraph readers this week.

Nearly 200 comments poured into our “your view” on whether the Pope should explicitly apologise for making remarks about Islam which sparked violent protests across the Muslim world.

Most respondents felt that the Pope had no need to makeconcessions:

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Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond is in hospital with a brain injury after crashing a jet-powered vehicle at roughly 300mph while filming for the popular BBC programme.

The presenter, who is known for his daredevil stunts, is in a "serious but stable" condition.

Do you think the producers of Top Gear are at fault for filming such a clearly dangerous stunt?

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Posted at: 00:01 | Permalink | Comments 243

With London Fashion Week in full flow, pressure is building on the fashion industry to outlaw the use of extremely skinny models.

“Size zero” - or UK size 4 - models have already been banned on the catwalk in Madrid, following concerns both for their own health and the impact they could have on impressionable young girls. Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, waded into the British debate by calling for designers to shun girls who appear too skinny.

Are ultra-thin models to blame for the rising number of eating disorders among teenage girls? If so, is a blanket ban on models of a certain size the best response?

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Posted at: 00:01 | Permalink | Comments 53

The Bank of England has acknowledged that house prices have risen faster than expected so far this year, with the average cost of a home now exceeding £200,000.

Interest rates are expected to rise to 5pc in autumn, raising the spectre of higher borrowing costs at a time when repossessions are already running at their highest level since June 2001.

Is it financial prudence or collective madness for young people to plunge themselves into exorbitant levels of debt to buy a house?

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Posted at: 10:01 | Permalink | Comments 44

The Archbishop of Canterbury has suggested that society needs to think more deeply about the consequences of encouraging mothers to work full time, as concern builds on the strain modern life is placing on childhood.

Children's campaigners have highlighted the importance to a child of regular quality time with their parents, as modern working practices leave them increasingly isolated.

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Posted at: 00:01 | Permalink | Comments 58

The Pope has said he is “deeply sorry” for the reaction to comments he made about Islam after a weekend of violent protests, but stopped short of offering an unequivocal apology.

In a speech last week, Pope Benedict XVI quoted a medieval text which labelled the Prophet Mohammed's teachings "evil and inhuman." This prompted uproar in parts of the Islamic world, with six churches set alight in the West Bank and an effigy of the Pope burnt in Kashmir.

Do you think the Pope should apologise unguardedly for his comments?

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Posted at: 10:00 | Permalink | Comments 174

The week began on a sombre note as the United States marked the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

We asked whether George W Bush’s response to that day – the bitterly controversial “war on terror” – was failing.

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Our Father, who art in MySpace

An image of Jesus is to appear in pint glasses in commercials this Christmas as part of a campaign to encourage young people back to the Church.

The advertising group behind the promotion has previously courted controversy by depicting Jesus as a baby Santa Claus and the revolutionary Che Guevara.

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Posted at: 00:11 | Permalink | Comments 63

Audio: Patrick Bishop with British troops on the frontline in Kandahar

Nato has refused to send reinforcements to Afghanistan despite pleas from Tony Blair, as British troops struggle to contend with an increasingly deadly Taliban resurgence.

The reluctance of Nato members to meet their commitments is partly due to the demands made on major nations for international operations elsewhere and wariness about getting sucked in to an open-ended conflict.

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Posted at: 00:11 | Permalink | Comments 103

Today the Daily Telegraph launches a campaign, Hold on to Childhood, in support of the call by 110 academics, writers and medical experts for a close examination of the quality of children's lives.

The letter published yesterday said youngsters had been tainted by over-exposure to electronic entertainment, lack of play space and the emphasis on academic testing in schools.

Letters and e-mails poured in during the day as readers took up the lead offered by people of the standing of Lady Greenfield, the director of the Royal Institution, Penelope Leach, the child care expert, and Sir Richard Bowlby, the president of the Centre for Child Mental Health.

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Posted at: 00:14 | Permalink | Comments 75

It should be a glowing time for children, but instead they are fearful. Author and grandfather Michael Morpurgo asks why

I have just finished making a 30-part radio series for the BBC on the history of childhood in Britain, looking back over 1,000 years of how the young have lived and died in this country.

When I finished it, I realised how little I had known before, but I also questioned where we were today; how far have we moved on? I have thought about these questions as a father, as a grandfather, as a teacher, as a writer.

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Posted at: 00:13 | Permalink | Comments 19

A large body of research backs the claims of the teachers, authors and scientists who yesterday blamed a range of modern ills for depriving children of a well balanced childhood.

Reports and studies suggest that worsening diets are causing mental health problems, modern technologies are sexualising children at ever earlier ages and they are losing the ability to assess risk because of little outdoor play.

Mental health

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Posted at: 00:12 | Permalink | Comments 7

More than 100 leading paediatricians, academics and authors have written an open letter, published in the Daily Telegraph today, calling on the Government to prevent what they call the death of childhood in Britain.

They claim that a sinister cocktail of junk food, marketing, over-competitive schooling and electronic entertainment is poisoning the childhood of Britain’s youngsters.

Do you agree with the letter's signatories that intolerable burdens are being placed on the shoulders of our young people? If so, what would you do to revive the innocence and simplicity of childhood?

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Posted at: 00:11 | Permalink | Comments 10

A new study commissioned by former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has concluded that marriage is the best environment to raise children because it offers the greatest chance of a stable upbringing.

Unmarried parents are up to five times more likely to experience family breakdown, according to the survey of 15,000 mothers who gave birth during 2000-01.

It found that cohabiting couples had at keast twice the odds of family breakdown during the early years of parenthood than married couples of a similar income.

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Posted at: 00:10 | Permalink | Comments 62

More than 100 leading paediatricians, academics and authors have written an open letter, published in the Daily Telegraph today, calling on the Government to prevent what they call the death of childhood in Britain.

They claim that a sinister cocktail of junk food, marketing, over-competitive schooling and electronic entertainment is poisoning the childhood of Britain’s youngsters.

Do you agree with the letter's signatories that intolerable burdens are being placed on the shoulders of our young people? If so, what would you do to revive the innocence and simplicity of childhood?

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Posted at: 00:01 | Permalink | Comments 120

As America mourns the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, the Bush administration has mounted a stout defence of the "war on terror" that it waged in response.

The US population is growing disillusioned with President Bush’s policies, as the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan deteriorate and international terrorist attacks continue unabated.

Do you think America is losing the "war on terror"? Is “terror” an enemy that can rationally be defeated in the first place?

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Posted at: 10:01 | Permalink | Comments 63

Tony Blair has been a hot topic this week.

After a leaked memo revealed that plans are being drawn up for his exit strategy from Number 10, we asked for your suggestions about how he should spend his last week in power. And 125 of you emailed in.

Here is a selection of those we received:

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Tony Blair has announced that he will step down as Prime Minister within the next 12 months, although he has stopped short of naming a date for now.

The Prime Minister also apologised to the country on behalf of the Labour Party "for the last week", during which time the Government was crippled by divisions over when Mr Blair should step down.

Mr Blair was forced to act to quell a party rebellion which came to a head with the resignation of seven junior members of his Government.

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Posted at: 00:05 | Permalink | Comments 168

A leaked memo has revealed that plans are being drawn up for Tony Blair's exit strategy from Number 10.

The five-page document sets out plans for Mr Blair's departure to be accompanied by a series of TV and radio appearances, including Blue Peter, Songs Of Praise and Chris Evans' Radio 2 show.

The aim is apparently to convince the electorate that : "His genuine legacy is not the delivery, important though that is, but the dominance of new Labour ideas ... the triumph of Blairism."

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Posted at: 00:01 | Permalink | Comments 137

The Government is under fire again after new allegations that it has failed to supply enough troops and equipment to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A former chief of defence staff has told The Daily Telegraph that the Army has not been given enough money or personnel to get the job done in an environment that has become extraordinarily dangerous.

There is understood to be such a cash shortage that plans are being drawn up to send units home over Christmas to save on fuel and food.

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Posted at: 00:01 | Permalink | Comments 66

A proposal has been put forward to allow children and teachers from state-backed schools to share £500 bonuses if they excel in A-level mathematics.

The move, by Frances Cairncross, the British Association president, is designed to boost interest in maths as a subject in the state sector and boost the relatively low number of students taking it as an A-level.

The incentive, proposed for those achieving A grades, also follows concerns about innumeracy levels outside the private sector.

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Posted at: 00:01 | Permalink | Comments 35

Here are a few choice words from Telegraph online readers for the senders of junk mail:

“Junk mail is the bane of our society.” G.Hunt

“Top priority should be a ban on all mail shots for credit cards and store cards. As for the rest, I need something to get the barbecue started.” M P Telkman

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Posted at: 00:00 | Permalink | Comments 22

George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, has pledged that a Conservative government would increase the proportion of "green" taxes.

Mr. Osborne argued that the burden of taxation should be shifted away from income and capital, and towards taxes on environmentally-damaging behaviour – though he rejected demands from his own party to specify where taxes would be cut.

Under the leadership of David Cameron, the Conservative party has emphasised its commitment to funding public services and distanced itself from tax-cutting policies. Do you support this stance?

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Posted at: 00:00 | Permalink | Comments 124