The Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year Awards, run by Lib Dem Voice, are back for their sixth year. As usual, they’ll be awarded in a budget lavish ceremony at the party’s autumn conference in Birmingham.

Click on the following links to see last year’s Shortlist and the Winners.

This year’s awards are as follows:

To be eligible for ‘Best blog from a Liberal Democrat holding public office’, a blog should be written by a councillor, elected mayor, assembly member, or parliamentarian.

The ‘Best use of blogging / social networking / e-campaigning award’ recognises the expanding role of both blogging and the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in politics. It’s a deliberately open category: you might want to nominate a good campaigning YouTube video, a particularly interesting Twitter feed or an effective campaigning website. Include links for the judges to see.

The Best non-Liberal Democrat politics blog winner will be chosen by you, dear reader (should you choose to take part). Once the judges have chosen their shortlist, these blogs will be put up for public vote here on Lib Dem Voice.

Here’s this year’s judging panel, (who aren’t eligible to win, by the way, so please avoid nominating them):

• Helen Duffett (that’s me) Co-Editor (Associate) Lib Dem Voice and also my own blog
• Richard Flowers, winner of Lib Dem Blog of the Year 2010, for The Very Fluffy Diary of Millennium Dome, Elephant.
• David Allen Green, Legal correspondent, New Statesman, and blogger at Jack of Kent.
• Olly Grender, who blogs at the New Statesman.
• Katie Razzall, reporter at Channel 4 News.
• Stephen Tall Co-Editor, Lib Dem Voice.
• Martin Tod from Liberal Democrats Online, who blogs at www.martintod.org.uk

Liberal Democrat Voice and any official blogs run by the party aren’t eligible either.

You’ve got until 2nd September to nominate up to 3 favourites per category, but the sooner the better. Please don’t feel the need to round up hundreds of people to nominate your blog as the number of nominations aren’t taken into account.

Send in your nominations by email to [email protected] and remember to state which award category you’re nominating for, in each case.

Photo by Alex Folkes/Fishnik Photography.