Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 280th 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 (24-30 June, 2012), 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. Once again Lib Dem members are treated as an afterthought by George Potter on The Potter Blogger.
George says party members should have been invited to Nick Clegg’s ‘soapbox speech’. [NB the event wasn’t organised by Lib Dem HQ]
2. The tuition fees system. Should we really be trying to ‘own’ it? by Richard Morris on A View from Ham Common.
Richard thinks we should be saying, ‘it’s better than the old system but not as good as our preferred option – and still party policy – of abolition of fees altogether. This is just a halfway house’.
3. The problem is not Chloe Smith but Jeremy Paxman by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England.
Jonathan says it’s not the politicians we should worry about these days so much as the interviewers.
4. The day the tories declared war on morality by George Potter on The Potter Blogger.
On David Cameron’s plans to stop housing benefit for under 25s if his party wins the next general election.
5. Is this interview the best case ever for Lords Reform by Richard Morris on A View from Ham Common.
“Have a listen to this brilliant interview from the World at One, where Lord Trefgarne – while trying to do the opposite – does what Andrew Sparrow calls ‘the best propaganda for an elected Lords that I’ve heard for ages'”
6. Nick Clegg needs to condemn Cameron’s welfare plans by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
“Cameron’s plans give us an insight into what the Tories governing alone would have done if they hadn’t had the Liberal Democrats holding them back. However unhappy many of us are with the changes, we need to at least acknowledge that.”
7. According to CCHQ, Chloe Smith’s appearance on Newsnight last night was a Tory win by Richard Morris on A View from Ham Commmon.
An extraordinary piece of information from the official CCHQ media log.
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. Nikki Thomson 1967 – 2012 by Stephen Glenn on Stephen’s Liberal Journal.
“My friend and Lib Dem colleague Nikki Thomson passed away last night. Because I had moved away from Edinburgh I do remember the last three times that I met Nikki while I was living and working in Edinburgh and the Lothians. I’m going to share the three of them as they pretty much sum Nikki up.”
9. Creative writing: Your mum has died – discuss on Susan Gaszczak’s blog.
“Is it time for exam boards to wake up and be a little more sensible about the type of essays they set as an assignment?”
10. I blame David Davis on Mark Thompson’s blog.
Mark believes Davis would have been a shoo-in for Home Secretary had he not resigned as MP in 2008.
11. My day work shadowing Mike Crockart MP by Andrew Page on A Scottish Liberal.
Andrew found it a positive experience but would like to see more done to include people from lower socio-economic backgrounds in the party.
12. Education! Education! Education! by Liam Quinn on The Libertine.
“Why do we teach people based on their age?” asks Liam.
And that’s it for another week. Happy blogging ‘n’ reading ‘n’ nominating.

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