Six of the Best 794

"So that’s three ideas, none of which are that radical, all of which are flawed to some degree, being presented to members as part of an opaque and closed process that only gives them a couple of days to vote on them." No, Nick Barlow is not a great fan of the Ashdown Prize.

Anthony Costello looks at how the Irish referendum on abortion was won: "Early polls suggested that voters across the country were greatly influenced by the personal stories of women mediated throughout the campaign, whilst personal relationships and experiences also had a significant influence on voter choice. There was little or no expression of the rural vs. urban divide."

To continue their revival, argue Nicholas Boys Smith and Maddalena Iovene, Liverpool and Manchester should invest in heritage and transport but not build cul-de-sacs.

"England's defeat at Lord's was an accident waiting to happen," says George Dobell. "It was a culmination of several years' of ECB policies that have disrespected Test cricket."

"In the wilds of Leicestershire, a horseshoe's throw from Rutland, lies the market town of Melton Mowbray. It's a proper agricultural town, with a long history of fox-slaughtering, but what it's best known for is cheese and pies." Diamond Geezer risks leaving London.

Eoghan Lyng celebrates the 50th birthday of the Small Faces album Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. Deep joy.