TOP TWENTY CONSERVATIVE BLOGS
2. Guido Fawkes
3. Adam Smith
5. Tory Radio
7. Dizzy Thinks
8. RightLinks
11. Antony Little
12. Spin Blog
13. Kevin Davis
14, James Cleverly
16. Tax Cutter
18. Croydonian
19. EU Serf
TOP TEN LABOUR BLOGS
1. Bob Piper
3. Kerron Cross
6. Mike Ion
7. Clive Soley
8. Jo Salmon
10. Bloggers4Labour
TOP TEN LIBERAL DEMOCRAT BLOGS
3. Niles's Blog
4. Rob Fenwick
8. Suz Blog
10. John Hemming MP
TOP TEN NON ALIGNED POLITICAL BLOGS
4. Beau Bo D'Or
5. Tim Worstall
9. Paul Leake
10. Shaphan
TOP TEN JOURNALIST BLOGS
1. Paul Linford
2. Adam Boulton
5. Ben Brogan
6. David Rennie
8. Nick Cohen
10. Martin Bright
TOP TEN FOREIGN BLOGS
1. Kiwiblog (NZ)
2. Andrew Sullivan (USA)
3. Oz Politics (AUS)
4. The Corner (USA)
5. David's Medienkritik (GER)
6. Tim Blair (AUS)
7. GOP Blog (USA)
8. Sicilian Notes (IRE)
9. Oval Office 2008 (USA)
10. Fightback! (NZ)
Not Melanie Phillips under Journalists' Blogs? (I agree with Stephen Pollard and Peter Hitchens.)
ReplyDeleteForeign blogs: Not The Gates of Vienna with the formidable Fjordman???????? Not Bruce Bawer's blog? Not Little Green Footballs? Wha'??? Instead the once brilliant Andrew Sullivan. Go to Little Green Footballs and the technical brilliance of Charles Johnson who owns it and now constantly breaks stories before the MSM and at least give it a look.
- Anonymousette
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
Heh, I love undeservedly sneaking in at number 10 on the Foreign blog list becuase you only link to ten of them.
ReplyDeleteTim Worstall, Brian Micklethwaite non-aligned? Bit of a redefinition required, here.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Paul for topping your list of political bloggers, he seems so genuine.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed and delighted to get a mention on your list, I only started four months ago. Thanks.
cheers Iain :)
ReplyDelete(Sigh).
ReplyDeleteStill, I think too much.
anonymousette, I don't real melanie Phillips I'm afraid. I don't know any of the other foreign blogs you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteSlagella, well they're not Labour, they're not Conservative, they're not LibDem, so what would you call them?
Cranmer, you nearly sneaked into the non aligned category. But you think too much! By the way, you seem to have taken that remark very seriously - it was meant as joke, you know!
No Darbyshires?
ReplyDeleteYer man at WestBrom Blog is going to be deeply offended Iain. He is not non-aligned, he's an active Tory!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mention.
Guess you haven;t read Slugger O'Toole on N Ireland.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Daily Kos?
No Austin Mitchell MP's blog among the best Labour ones?
ReplyDeleteChher for the plug Iain.
ReplyDeleteJames
I’d say I was non-aligned, yes. I despise the social authoritarians of the right just as much as I do the economic ones of the left.
ReplyDeleteCranmer, you nearly sneaked into the non aligned category. But you think too much!
ReplyDeleteHmmm... so it is more 'deferred success' than 'failure'. I am heartened.
...I know these are your top political blogs, and subjectivity reigns, but wouldn't a little objectivity enhance your judgement?
ReplyDeleteI mean, some of these favoured bloggers of yours have absolutely no traffic (I mean none), and are clearly blogging with themselves. When I was at school, we had another name for that.
If they are saying nothing new, or nothing that anyone can be bothered to interract with, why do you rate them? How can a blog which has a truly global audience (according to Clustrmaps), gets over 100 hits every day, and involves bloggers in contentious debate, fail to make it into your 'top blogs'?
Of course I talk of my learned blog, but the question is sincerely general.
Thanks for the plug, Iain
ReplyDeleteLeighton Andrews
Iain - thank you Sir. Not that I think I'm worthy.
ReplyDeleteIain - I honestly would have thought Gates of Vienna would have been up your street. And No Pasaran from the brilliant, bilingual Dissident Frogman for sharply observed takes on Europe.
ReplyDelete- Anonymousette
Cranmer, the reason political blogs like this or CH don't acknowledge or rate your blog is because you talk about things that the politicians refuse to. Your latest post is excellent and of crucial constitutional importance, but it's way over the heads of the UK's present blogging ability/mentality. Don't give up!
ReplyDeleteQuiet Bob! I’m just glad to be on any list - I have only been blogging a few months! As for being an active Tory, I don’t think I push it down peoples throat in every single post. Fair and Balanced - just like fox news. ;-) Cheers Ian.
ReplyDeleteAs for hits cranner, according to my blog editor homepage I have had anything between 10 right up to the highest of 122 hits a day, and according to cluster maps I have had visitors from as far as China to North America. Since I moved to blog.com my visits have shot up, but the number of comments have dropped - I think it’s the rigmarole you have to go through with the verification process, but it doesn’t mean no one is reading.
James Cleverly should have been higher than 14th I would have thought.
ReplyDeleteNo suprises that I didn't get on there. Nobody seems to read my blog anyway - clearly I don't have enough Lib Dem hate posts...
Bob Dale?! I am the only person there most days. Some of the posts are slightly bizarre to say the least. The latest is a rant about Cliff Richard. I only go there for a laugh, and it never fails.
ReplyDeleteDepends on your definition of "the best" blog. Recess Monkey is the more influential.
Foreign blogs without the Daily Kos www.dailykos.com - THE us democratic grassroots blog, and a triumph both technically and in terms of content/content filtering? And mentioned in the Observer article you highlight...c'mon now...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mention, my hits have shot up today!
ReplyDeleteoops have managed to cross Iain and Bob into one person. Presumably Bob Dale would be a Lib Dem. Well if you multiply a positive with a negative you get a negative.
ReplyDeletetheymademe, until I read the Observer today I had never heard of the Daily Kos!
ReplyDeleteMr/Mrs/Miss/Ms Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comments, and (I assure you) I shall not give up.
Unfortunately, because you are Anon, I have no idea if you are one of the Anons who frequents my blog, or my Mum. But thank anyway.
Mr Ash,
Your blog clearly attracts traffic. The point I was making to Mr Dale is that surely the success of a 'political' blog should be determined by the extent to which people are inspired to interract with it? This, of course, is determined by the originality of the content. Most of these 'Conservative' blogs are either regurgitating Mr Dale's or CH's or Mr Fawkes' posts. I can't see what 'pleasure' they therefore give Mr Dale, nor why they make his 'top 20'. Since it is neither for hits, comments, nor originality, I can only assume it is because he likes their face. If so, he should encourage Mr Rickitt to start his own blog, and then he can be placed at No.1...
Cranmer, you've become very bitter and twistd and that last remark does not become you. I also don't agree with your assessment of the merits of the Conservative blogs. Of course these things are subjective. I made clear that these were blogs I liked and visited most often. It doesn't mean that they are necessarily the best. I just happen to like them. I visit your blog from time to time. Obviously I would visit it more often and be able to judge its merits if it had a link on my blog. But as you don't likn to me on yours, I haven't! In terms of hits I suspect you have more to gain than me. Wanna do it?
ReplyDeleteMr Dale,
ReplyDeleteIf you had suffered my fate, you might yourself be bitter and twisted.
I have considered your kind and generous offer, and have linked you from my blog. I even made the first move, as a gesture of my faith in your good self. This is, however, subject to one condition... that I am not pigeon-holed 'miscellaneous' - anything but that, please.
Cranmr, pray where would you like to be put?
ReplyDeleteIt's not a blog as such but politicalwire.com is very comprehensive in terms of US electoral politics (congressional and gubernatorial as well as presidential). It also linkes to oddles of blogs etc which is how I first found Kos, Wonkette, etc.
ReplyDeleteWell, I should like to think that you might visit me daily for spiritual refreshment and edification, but, failing that, since, like you, I am too old to be a Conservative candidate, how about 'English & Eurosceptic'?
ReplyDeleteWhat about putting Clive Davis in the Journalists' Blogs? He's a damn sight better than any of the duffers you've listed there.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the plug.
ReplyDeleteIain - if you can stomach the politics (sort of handwringy grassroots US pinko activism with a touch of stop the war about it), Daily Kos is an example of what successful political blogs of the future ought to be. Not just one contributor, but many; prioritisation of contributions by group recommendation; active editting by committed (and on the ball) rotating volunteers; and head guy more of a ringmaster and inspiration rather than active creator of content (and I respect you for the amount of material you produce on your site - but it must be a constant challenge and drain to keep up levels of quality and quantity).
ReplyDeleteFrankly, there is more content on Daily Kos each day than any one person could wade through -but because of the way it works, the good stuff hits the spot and sets the agenda for a significant sub-section of US political activists (and in a much more constructive way than the - admittedly fun - gossipy bitchy blogs you and Guido run).
If you can bear it, I recommend hanging out of Daily Kos for a few weeks to get a feel for how it works. I did in the run up to the last US election, and it was as good an entry into US politics as any number of books, newspapers or columnists.
Somebody, somewhere is going to do something similar in the UK and when they do it will be huge. Do you have the drive and the guts to try it?
Cramner, at the end of the day there are more important things in life than all of this. Dont get upset over a link. :-)
ReplyDeleteCranmer - or might I call you Thomas? - you have rather nailed your political colours to the mast by registering at a certain political forum that will remain nameless.....
ReplyDeleteIain, I'm extremely honoured.
ReplyDeleteCranmer, for what it's worth, I think your blog is quite good.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteMr Ash,
ReplyDeleteThank you for restoring a sense of perspective. The world goes to war over the lack of links.
Mr Croydonian,
I think I know the forum to which you refer. It is fairly obscure, and I may also have registered for its leftist counterpart. I haven't as it happens, but I might have done...
And you may not call me Thomas. That sort of over-familiarity is responsible for the decline of civilisation.
That's me put in my place, your grace.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, Iain.
ReplyDeleteIain Dale is very dismissive of left blogs (on purpose in my opinion). I reckon he deliberately messed up the links to B4L and misrepresented the number and quality of Labour blogs listed there. HE IS A TORY, I wouldn't trust his sincerity.
ReplyDeleteHe says conservative blogs are leading the way (something the Tory press) has gleefully repeated. But I don't see evidence of it really?
Look at the Left bloggers impact with the Euston Manifesto (where is the Right bloggers equivalent)? Even though I disagree with a fundamental element of the EM (You CAN reject Galloway etc without having to limit your criticism of the US government etc), you can't deny it's widespread impact.
Anyway back to the point, Harry's Place, Normblog, and Leninology seem to get plenty of hits and they are left leaning. There are loads of well read left-leaning blogs out there. Ian Dale is talking rubbish.
Neil, you obviously subscribe to the conspiracy theory of life rather than the cock up. Whatever you may believe I corrected the errors on the links as soon as they were pointed out to me. I really do have better things to do than do what you suggest.
ReplyDeleteRead my article in Tribune this week. Your blood pressure should soar.
Check out Blogonymous.
ReplyDeleteGoodness, Iain, no Neil Harding on your blog list? Come on, a comedian like Neil only pops up once in a generation!
ReplyDelete(The word verification has come up with "xs gin": I haven't, but I wouldn't mind...)
DK
Was just wondering where Paul Burgin is on your 'top 10' labour bloggers??? Especially when you consider he has been nominated for a 'bloggers4Labour' award...any ideas?
ReplyDeleteSmarter than she looks: erotica writer Suz deMello's political blog
ReplyDeleteat http://www.myspace.com/politicallyopinionated
don't be misled by the candy-lipped backdrop; she is one smart 22 year old
Check out ThePathLessTaken.blogspot.com and if you would, leave a comment..
ReplyDeletehttp://elpresident.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteYou can find these blogs organised as news channels, just like TV channels, on THIS SITE
ReplyDeleteThe site presents the top blogs in the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia all organised according to the different countries.