The FT’s John Kay says it is possible to describe an independent Scotland which would build a better business sector, less focused on London and made more vibrant by the energy and self- confidence which devolution has already brought to Edinburgh. It is also possible to describe an independent Scotland cursed by the entitlement-based culture into which municipal socialism in the west of the country often degenerated, destructively mixed with the crony capitalism and overweening ambition which almost destroyed its financial sector.

In The Guardian Fiona Laird, a theatre director, writer and founder of the National Youth Arts Trust, says that she and millions of others who don’t live in Scotland, fervently want it to remain a part of the UK. Scotland, let us press you to our collective bosom and say to you, in the words of that poet from Warwickshire, that “other strains of woe, which now seem woe, Compared with loss of thee will not seem so”.

In The Times Daniel Finkelstein warns that while the particular variety of sexual crime that Cyril Smith committed might be harder to get away with now, the same might not be true of his dubious financial deals. And certainly not of his crony hold on power. It is optimistic to believe that in a new era of mavericks and local personality politics, transparency alone will be a sufficient shield against corruption. The Cyril Smith story is not about the politics we are running away from; it’s about the politics we are running towards.

In The Daily Express Stephen Pollard notes that it was only made in 2007 but George Osborne’s pledge to abolish inheritance tax for estates worth less than £1million now seems a distant memory. Instead of lifting millions of home-owners out of the grasp of the tax, as the £1million figure would do, the threshold stays at £325,000 – and will remain there until 2019. It hasn’t even kept pace with inflation, let alone the rise in house prices.

The Independent’s Mira Bar Hillel believes that when Boris Johnson talks about HS2, the highly controversial £50 billion+ railway project and its opponents, the entire country should listen carefully. Because the Pretender to the Throne has chosen to condemn thousands of people unfortunate enough to be living along the proposed route for, er, worrying about the tumbling value of their homes.

In The International New York Times Matthew d’Ancona thinks private faith and its connection to public action are endlessly fascinating issues, and politicians should not be frightened of discussing those subtle threads. But cheerleading is another matter entirely. It is the task of a modern prime minister to negotiate the problems of a pluralist society and to find the common ground that is the home of civility in a multifaith, multiethnic world. This is the real mission. To stand a chance of success, we need fewer “evangelicals,” not more.

The Daily Telegraph’s Mary Riddell says this is a tale of two messiahs. The first is the French economics professor, Thomas Piketty, who is due in Britain today to deliver two lectures; the second is the Ukip leader, Nigel Farage. At an initial glance, the world’s most feted economist and the saloon-bar hustler have no common bond. Where Mr Piketty has shattered the American dream (and been rewarded by topping the US bestseller lists), Mr Farage has smashed British complacencies.

In The Independent Ukip leader Nigel Farage asks: So what is it about Ukip that makes it racist for us to talk about migration, but not the other parties? Could it be because we’re not part of their club? It smacks of a cartel, trying to restrict entry into the market for new competitors. And he thinks it’s one which will backfire on them.

The Daily Mail’s Stephen Glover thinks Ukip is on the same wavelength as many decent voters who might normally back the Tories or Labour or even the Lib Dems. His strong advice to the main parties, and their cheerleaders in the media, is not to act and talk as though they think the British people are racist.

In The Times Alice Thomson says there need not be a re-evaluation of security or more legislation after this tragic killing. Schools can already search pupils if they want, but there does need to be a reaffirmation of the value of treasuring teachers like Mrs Maguire. Hector, the teacher in The History Boys, tells his pupils at the end: “Pass the parcel. That’s sometimes all you can do. Take it, feel it and pass it on. Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day. Pass it on, boys.” Mrs Maguire passed the parcel on to generations of children in Leeds and for that she will always be loved.

In The Daily Telegraph novelist Anthony McGowan, a former pupil, says the shock of her death is compounded by the fact that comprehensives are mostly gentle places now. I’ve visited perhaps a hundred state schools in my capacity as an author over the past 10 years, and even the ones deemed to be failing, struggling with difficult kids from deprived areas, feel welcoming.

The Daily Mail’s Sarah Vine thinks Mrs Maguire represented everything that is good and miraculous about state education in Britain. Her death is not only a personal tragedy for those who knew and loved her; it is also a tragedy for all those teachers who, like Mrs Maguire, see teaching not just as a job that pays the rent, but as a vocation, a calling every bit as heartfelt as that which draws men and women to the cloth.

The Times says many of society’s greatest social problems are defeated by strong families and worsened by family breakdown. Policymakers should do nothing to inadvertently weaken the bonds that keep parents together. The advantages of marriage are already available to any couple. They just have to get married first.

The Daily Mail thinks that as the entire country is aware, the overseas aid budget – now more than double the developed world’s average – is merely a ministerial vanity project. Every day that it continues to grow, while the money is desperately needed at home, is another snub to the hard-working Britons who earn it.

The Daily Telegraph says that while the circumstances of Mrs Maguire’s death are still unclear, the teenage suspect is thought to have been a loner. Do schools have appropriate procedures in place for picking up signs of dysfunction in pupils and dealing with them adequately? In time, these and other questions may need to be addressed and answered. But for now, as the floral tributes pile up outside the school she served with such distinction, we should remember the example set by Ann Maguire, and be thankful.

In The Guardian David Blunkett, a former home secretary, thinks that his report for the Labour party’s policy review, published today, has sought to focus on a strategy for school improvement. According to Ofsted, there are 1.5 million children in underperforming schools. Clearly the education secretary, Michael Gove, has adopted the wrong formula. We need to build on what we know works – local oversight of schools to keep a check on performance, timely interventions in schools to support those at risk of failing, and partnerships between schools to help each one to improve.

The Independent’s Matthew Norman says Max Clifford bragged about earning a fortune from suppressing stories, but failed to perform that protective role for himself. Having enriched and aggrandised himself by exposing the private lives of other, he was belatedly brought down by the exposure of his privates. Poetic justice comes no more unpoetic. But it is justice that efforts to punish ancient sex crimes were vindicated.

The FT’s Martin Wolf asks: How do we generate the demand that is needed to mop up potential global supply? Failure to answer that need in a sensible way was a leading cause of the crisis. Continued failure will blight the recovery or, worse, cause another bout of financial and economic upheaval. Do not imagine these challenges will soon vanish. They look like a semi-permanent condition.

@allisonpearson