Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 359th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (22– 28 December, 2013), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

1. Here be many spoilers. If you haven’t watched The Time of the Doctor, do not read any further by me on Caron’s Musings.
Bit surprised to see this here – but then we Lib Dems love the Doctor.

2. Iain Duncan Smith – when politics goes bad by Rob Parsons on A Comfortable Place.
Rob’s end of year report on IDS highlights many flaws in welfare reform.

3. Biscuits that look like David Cameron by Richard Morris on A View from Ham Common.
A bit of Christmas fun.

4. Alan Turing – crumbs for the starving LGBT community by Andrew Emmerson on DIY Liberalism.
Andrew sums up many people’s feelings on Turing’s pardon – what about all the other people convicted of the same offence?

5. A truthful songsheet for Liberal Democrats to sing from by Peter Wrigley on .Keynesian Liberal
Peter is not much taken with Danny Alexander’s latest email to party members.

6. How is Nick Clegg’s enquiry into briefing against Vince Cable coming on? by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England.
Given that they still seem to be doing it, if Charlotte Henry’s Coffee House piece on the Deputy Leadership is anything to go by.

7. It was my birthday yesterday. And I had a revelation. by Jennie Rigg on There will be guests at the Hall.
How Jennie spent her birthday. It involves beer and Liberal Democrats.

And now to the five blog-posts that come highly recommended, regardless of the number of Aggregator click-throughs they attracted. These are normally chosen using the LibDig bookmarking website for party members, the site where you can highlight blog-posts you want to share with your fellow Lib Dems. Remember, though, you’re still more than welcome to nominate for the Golden Dozen a Lib Dem blog article published in the past seven days – your own, or someone else’s – using the steam-powered method of e-mail … all you have to do is drop a line to [email protected].

8. Still more students at university, still no apology from Streeting, Porter or NUS by Charlotte Henry on Digital Politico.
Sure there were issues for us over fees, but the outcome is more students at university, Charlotte reminds us.

9. When Parliament tried to end Christmas by Mark Mills on Matter of Facts blog.
A seasonal history lesson.

10. A bit more than elf and safety  by Peter Black on Peter Black.
Actual elves? Really?

11. A 350 year old Christmas Conundrum by Andrew Page on A Scottish Liberal.
An island gravestone throws up a mystery. How could a man celebrate 180 Christmases.

12. Waikiki: Cheeseburger in Paradise and that’s not so good by Mark Valladares on A View from Creeting St Peter.
Lady Mark’s on his holidays in Hawaii and not loving the main island resorts. But he is down the road from the Obamas.

And that’s it for another week. Happy blogging ‘n’ reading ‘n’ nominating.

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* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social