Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 176th 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 (27th June – 3rd July, 2010), 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. I am still sceptical of the Coalitions but… on Colin Ross’s blog.
A Colaition-sceptic renews his membership: ‘I may not like everything the Coalitions do but we are getting Liberal Democrat policies enacted and that has to be a good thing, we are tempering the Conservatives who left to their own devices would try and dismantle the whole state.’

2. I am scum on Sara Bedford’s Always win when you’re singing.
Takes Jeremy Hunt to task for his Hillsborough gaffe: ‘He should get his facts straight, rather than rely on the Murdoch press and his own cognitive biases.’

3. Falling in the polls? Nobody should be surprised on Nich Starling’s Norfolk Blogger.
A Coalition-sceptic prophesies: ‘Don’t be surprised to see Lib Dem rating fall further in the near future.’

4. Lib Dem polls – keep calm and carry on on Mark Thompson’s Mark Reckons.
Mark adopts a phlegmatic approach: ‘There is plenty of time to increase our support levels once we are in a position to show people how we have positively affected their lives.’

5. Conservative Home want us for 5 years! on Chris Wilson’s ChrisJW133.
Which is sweet of them.

6. Local Government By-Elections : June 24th 2010 on Harry Hayfield’s British Elections after 2010.
Doing what it says on the tin.

7. Two Lib Dem MPs vote against VAT rise on Raging Reg’s …and one more thing!
Eyeing up Mike Hancock and Bob Russell as the Lib Dems’ new awkward squad.

And now to the five blog-posts that come highly recommended, regardless of the number of Aggregator click-throughs they attracted. These are 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. Why Lembit Öpik should not be the Lib Dem candidate for Mayor of London on Andrew Reeves’ Running Blog.
“Two thumbs up.” (Submitted by niles via LibDig).

9. Has the Observer been conned by the MiliEd campaign? on Mike Smithson’s Political Betting.
“Mike Smithson points out a seriously dodgy misrepresentation of the results of a private YouGov poll about the Lib Dems commissioned by Ed Miliband’s campaign but reported on by the Observer. Perhaps the job cuts at Guardian News and Media have also involved cutting journalists’ common sense?” (Submitted by Niklas Smith via LibDig).

10. Cheap Attacks Could Cost Labour Dear on Adrian Sanders MP’s blog.
“Perceptive piece on how Labour is failing to be perceptive.” (Submitted by mark.pack via LibDig).

11. Those Russian Spies on Craig Murray’s blog.
“Craig Murray causes pause for thought in an insightful post on the big spy bust in Washington. Do secret services have agendas of their own, which do not always coincide with those of their elected masters?” (Submitted by Niklas Smith via LibDig).

12. My Pulled Entry to “Your Freedom” on Duncan Stott’s Split Horizons.
“Duncan Stott makes a serious point when he asks Nick Clegg to “keep drugs illegal” in the name of a well-off drug dealer. Typically the moderators at HMG had no sense of humour…” (Submitted by Niklas Smith via LibDig).

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

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