Everyone else is doing it...

Voting open until 15th August

...so shall I.

As posted in the earlier hours of this morning, I've been finalising my list of 20 blogs for contribution to Iain Dale's search for the Top 100 UK Political Blogs, which will form part of the upcoming book, 2007 Guide to Political Blogging in the UK.

It's been a little more tricky than I expected, as I wanted to apply some kind of objectivity to the subject; like most people I probably read some blogs not in this list, to which I have a greater political affinity, more often than some which I have included as being, in my opinion, the best examples of blogging from a perspective different to my own. Even with that proviso, I will admit it's pretty one sided, perhaps even more so than my own political position actually warrants; I consider myself a pretty moderate EUrosceptic, but I just couldn't ignore too many of the many intelligent blogs which lay into this organisation with such a powerful mix of wit, venom and exasperation.

A also dropped a few on the grounds of a handful of rules I set myself, some in the interests of objectivity, others to do with my idea of what a blog should be. Boris Johnson MP has a brilliant blog, but the postings are a bit too thin on the ground to get much of a dynamic behind it, despite an admirably liberal policy on commenting. CiF Watcher, LibertarianUK.net and
Educational Conscription have all got off to a fantastic start, content-wise, but I felt were a little new to include. Others, like Archbishop Cranmer I enjoy immensely, but I feel really have politics as a secondary theme, woven in as and when necessary.

I've also got a bit of a short term memory when it comes to these things. I regretted leaving out Tom Watson whose usually good blog I disagree with often; only a few recent activities that I felt were beyond the pale spared him from the embarrassment of appearing on such a true blue list. Also, like anyone interested in blogging from a Conservative point of view it felt strange to omit Guido, but as he himself has announced, there are many more important things in his life than blogging right now, and I don't think many would dispute his priorities right at the moment, and he's still a very good read.

I've ended up with a bit of a weird mix of 'best in class' and overall champions, but anyway, after all that rambling, here is the Liberty's Requiem Top 20, in alphabetical order:

• A Very British Dude


• An Englishman's Castle


• Caroline Hunt


• Croydonian


• Daily Referendum


• Daniel Hannan


• Devil's Kitchen


• Dizzy Thinks


• England Expects


• Iain Dale's Diary


• James Cleverly


• Liberal England


• mr eugenides


• Norfolk Blogger


• Nourishing Obscurity


• Paul Linford


• Political Betting


• Sinclair's Musings


• Thunder Dragon


• Tom Paine

If and when my hosting provider unblocks my Blogroll for Facebook Application, and it gets a few more users, I might have to consider a 'blog read compatibility rating' feature...It's been quite interesting, seeing so many other peoples top 20s on various blogs, to work out just how many great, and thankfully rare not-so great minds I think alike to!