Six of the Best 114

Are the Tories giving the Lib Dems a free ride in Oldham East? asks Mark Ferguson on LabourList. He adds: "Although Labour are the bookies' favourites for the January 13th poll, sources close to the Labour campaign have suggested that they expect a close race. Having the Tories take things easily will certainly make things more difficult for Labour."

Jerry Hayes on ThinkPolitics gives another take on the forthcoming by-election: "The potential victim in this strange little event is MiliEd. He will be out classed and outshined by Balls. he will give the impression of being the organ grinder’s monkey If, in the unlikely event that Labour, wins he will only get some of the credit, but there will be screams to move Balls to a more visible role. Screams that MiliEd would be unwise to ignore, but loathe to act on."

Craig Dearden-Phillips on Social Enterprise asks another question: Are mutuals fit for purpose? "What does all this mean for public services? Perhaps the strongest message I got is that for the magic of employee ownership to work, it is vital that employee ownership is as near-total as possible."

Paul Linford offers his review of the political year 2010.

The career of Blake Edwards is celebrated by Self-Styled Siren.

While Andrew Hickey marks the passing of Captain Beefheart: "Beefheart is actually less original than his music sounds, but he was one of the great imaginative *synthesists* of all time, putting together the timbre of Chicago blues with the tonalities and rhythms of Ornette Coleman, and adding beat poetry on top."