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 (4th – 10th 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. What would the constituency boundaries look like with 600 MPs? on Jonathan Calder’s Liberal England.
Jonathan has the answer. Or, rather, UK Polling Report does.

2. Leaving the Party? PLEASE, DON’T DO IT!!! on Linda Jack’s Lindylooz Muze.
A coalition-sceptic’s plea for unity (in order to save the coalition-philes from themselves).

3. The state of the LibDems and the coalition – two diametrically opposed views on Paul Walter’s Liberal Burblings.
Two leaders, one local the other national: two very different takes on the coalition.

4. Well done Nick Clegg! The 55% row is defused by a little finesse on Paul Walter’s Liberal Burblings.
And exposes Labour’s partisan hyperbole in the process.

5. 26 councillors lose their seats following unitary decision on ALDC’s blog.
Ouch.

6. God I Hate New Labour on Craig Murray’s blog.
No, the Almighty has not come out against them – but Craig’s been reading Yvette Cooper.

7. Good things happening in Barking & Dagenham Liberal Democrats on Mark Pack’s blog.
Wowed by Felicia Taiwo (who, alas, didn’t win the by-election – but at least the BNP didn’t either).

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. Is Gove A Liability? on The Futility Monster’s blog.
‘I have watched Michael Gove and his obsession with “free” schools for many years now and have been a little discomfited by just how infatuated he is with his dream.’

9. Two months after the election – my thoughts on the coalition on Mark Thompson’s Mark Reckons.
‘In the end I am a political realist. The deal we struck was the only politically viable one and I think we actually got a good deal all things considered.’

10. Where’s our voice when the Tories are wrong? on Richard Baum’s blog.
“Richard raises a very pertinent question regarding how we Lib Dems maintain our distinctive identity whilst being part of a Tory dominated coalition. He thinks so far there is too much of a united front.” (Submitted by mark.thompson via LibDig).

11. The Street Called Straight on burkesworks’ The Bureau of Sabotage.
“Eric Pickles and the Daily Express get a right royal Rodgering.” (Submitted by burkesworks via LibDig).

12. What Jacob Rees-Mogg did next on Peter Black AM’s blog.
An answer to the question no-one’s been asking.

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

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