Six of the Best 351

"The key difference between conventional politicians and populists is not hatred - you don't have to hate to be a populist.  It is the understanding that our institutions are no longer effective." David Boyle, on The Real Blog, offers a six-point (well, five-point) plan for a Liberal populism.

Jon Wilkinson explains how to vote Liberal Democrat with a clear conscience.

The New Atlantis website tells us about the shameful treatment of the people of the Chagos Islands.

"Wyndham Colliery had closed at the beginning of that year – he had long retired. But despite the economic devastation, until he died he counted the day of the pit’s closure as one of the happiest in his life. ‘It was a filthy place. No man should spend his working life on his knees." Rowan Davies writes about her grandfather on her Nonsuch blog.

Ryan Gilbey marks the 50th anniversary of John Schlesinger’s Billy Liar on his New Statesman blog.

"Rock is above all a theatrical form. English rockers have been particularly good at this, partly because many of them, including Bowie himself, have drawn inspiration from the rich tradition of music hall theater. If Chuck Berry was a godfather of British rock, so was the vaudevillian Max Miller, the 'cheeky chappie', in his daisy-patterned suits." Ian Buruma discusses the career of David Bowie for the New York Review of Books.