1. Housing crisis is the scandal of our age [2] (Daily Telegraph)

Rents must be brought down and investment shifted from welfare into building the homes that Britain needs so desperately, says Mary Riddell.

2. Out of Europe, Britain faces a weak future [3](Financial Times)

If the prime minister is to call a referendum, the only real choice is between being fully in or out altogether, says Jonathan Powell.

3. A betrayal of principle on same-sex marriage [4] (Independent)

Cameron talked big; what he delivered is a cobbling together of compromise and cowardice of which he should be ashamed, says an Independent leader.

4. Culture wars are an unwelcome American import [5] (Daily Telegraph)

By supporting gay marriage, David Cameron risks sowing division where none previously existed, argues a Telegraph editorial.

5. This lily-livered marriage bill must make room for all of us [6] (Guardian)

Gay people are still being denied marriage, while straight people are deserting it in droves, writes Gaby Hinsliff. The institution itself is a mess.

6. Who should we back in this Sunni-Shia war? [7] (Times) (£)

Syria is not a struggle between tyranny and freedom but a fight for dominance between two visions of Islam, writes Paddy Ashdown. 

7. Japan should scare the eurozone [8](Financial Times)

Japan’s two consecutive lost decades are precisely what Europe should not want to emulate, writes Sebastian Mallaby.

8. Northern Ireland is not at a crossroads it's stuck on a roundabout [9] (Guardian)

The recurring violence of a minority in Northern Ireland reflects a wider lack of faith in its politics, says Peter Shirlow.

9. The rioters shouldn’t worry – Ulster is safe [10] (Daily Telegraph)

As the census shows, a united Ireland has become an outdated nationalist fantasy, argues Ruth Dudley Edwards.

10. Sorry Mr Cameron, Television debates are not optional [11] (Independent)

The PM's bid to weedle out of pre-election live debates in 2015 makes a handsome Christmas gift to Ed Miliband, says Matthew Norman.