Six of the Best 275

On the ALDES - Association of Liberal Democrat Engineers and Scientists - site Ed Long interviews Ed Davey, the Lib Dem State for Energy and Climate Change.

Will relaxing the planning rules on extensions boost the economy? Paul Walter on Liberal Burblings answers his own question: "Unequivocally, No. Having had detailed experience of the process for several years while on the Town Council, extensions normally get waved through unless they are seriously out of keeping with the street scene, or represent gargantuan over-development."

Edinburgh Eye claims that Grant Shapps, the new chairman of the Conservative Party, is a "spam spiv".

Nick Cohen, writing for Standpoint, does not welcome the prospect of a new series of The Thick of It: "Politicians are always spineless, untrustworthy and mendacious. Such is the broadcasters' creed. I am just about old enough to remember when British television had more than one act in the repertoire. Like the makers of Borgen or The West Wing in our time, the writers of The Challengers, The Nearly Man, Bill Brand and other dramas from the 1970s showed politicians trying in however flawed a manner to put their ideas into practice."

Neil on Cook'd and Bomb'd Comedy Chat accuses prominent comedians of using their online fans for co-ordinated, safety-in-numbers bullying.

The lavender is being harvested on a roundabout in Hackney, reports Spitalfields Life.