Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 491st weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the five most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (1-7 October, 2017), together with a hand-picked seven 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. 87.5% good news for the Liberal Democrats in this week’s Council by-elections by Mark Pack on Mark Pack.
A round up of this week’s by-elections.

2. Stop Brexit march – was it worth it? by Peter Wrigley on Keynesian Liberal.
A great event – but nobody seems to know about it.

3. Theresa, it’s too late. Boris has already won by Mark Valladares on Liberal Bureaucracy.
“As tactful as a rhinoceros with toothache.” You get the feeling that Mark isn’t a fan of the foreign secretary.

4. A slow, fragile but noticeable trend: public opinion on referendum vote by Mark Pack on Mark Pack.
We’re moving towards an anti Brexit majority.

5. Nick Clegg’s lecture on William Gladstone by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England.
Watch the Cleggster in action.

And now to the seven blog-posts that come highly recommended, regardless of the number of Aggregator click-throughs they attracted. To nominate a Lib Dem blog article published in the past seven days – your own, or someone else’s, all you have to do is drop a line to [email protected]. You can also contact us via Twitter, where we’re @libdemvoice

6. Filling in speaker’s cards for Lib Dem Conference: a user’s guide by Jennie Rigg on I spend ages hanging around the Rue Morgue in a gorilla suit and what do I get?
An often hilarious guide on getting it right.

7. Remainer’s Diary Day 378: A shock for the Conservative Party by Jo Hayes on Jo Hayes.
Even their target market doesn’t think the Tories have got their backs.

8. Why I took my daughter to a protest on Playboy by Jane Chelliah on Feminist Mama.
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9. How do we solve a problem like the House of Lords? by Zoe O’Connell on Complicity.
What happens if you chuck the Bishops and hereditary peers out? The results might surprise you.

10. The Catalan Independence Referendum – some quick thoughts by Dave Gorman on Liberalism5.
Dave is unimpressed with both sides

11. Looking at the issues surrounding Universal Credit by Jonathan Wallace on Jonathan Wallace.
To key issues to resolve before this can work properly.

12. You will need sunglasses to watch the documentary on Boris Johnson by Jane Chelliah on Feminist Mama.
Jane looks at the foreign secretary’s recent record and his capacity for attracting publicity.

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