Six of the Best 154

"Employee ownership has always been a cornerstone of Liberal policy and in every manifesto from Asquith to Ashdown. Our leaders seldom talk of it now other than to advocate a meagre bit mutualism on the margins. This is a far cry from the policy which the party championed for most of the last century." Birkdale Focus, whom I last saw moored above the top lock at Foxton, calls for employee ownership to be restored as a central concern of Liberal Democrat policy.

Neil Stockley sorts the good arguments for AV from the bad.

The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway has arrived two years late and £65m over budget, reports Focus on Bar Hill. That's what happens when you monkey about with a perfectly good railway branch line (Cambridge to St Ives), remarks Liberal England.

Tony's Musings looks at the role of Jersey as a refuge for French radicals in the years after 1848 - the Year of Revolution.

The rise and fall of "ladies only" railway compartments in the 19th century is examined by Turnip Rail.

"Perhaps one of the key performers in the punk period her powerful songs still affect and influence women and many men performers three decades later. Her band X-Ray Spex left behind an amazing legacy of songs that were utterly original in their brilliance. The songs were brilliant enough but it was her lyrics that were some of the best of era that really stood out. Great perceptive poems about plastic society and consumerism that cut through all the bullshit." Louder Than War pays tribute to Poly Styrene.