Cities simply don't have the powers they need to radically innovate in cutting obesity or the number of disaffected teenagers.

Britain is rich in radicalism, and anyone who says that our society has drifted into fatalism and apathy should get out more.

All over the world, social innovation is tackling some of the most pressing problems facing society today - from fair trade, distance learning, hospices, urban farming and waste reduction to restorative justice and zero-carbon housing. But most of these are growing despite, not because of, help from governments.

The longer you commute the less happy you're likely to be.

The smug complacency of technology adverts disguises a pretty mixed picture, with too many people not connected, too many passive users of technologies designed for interactive, and far too much talk about empowerment but far too little action to make it happen.

Cities simply don't have the powers they need to radically innovate in cutting obesity or the number of disaffected teenagers.

As with products on supermarket shelves, the public has a right to know where their financial products and services come from.