Guido hears that the Backbench Business Committee overseeing the e-petitions, will not be making time for parliament to discuss the two that have, so far, successfully reached 100,000 signatures,  until at least after party-conference season. The people have spoken, but it turns out no one is rushing to listen…

Since Guido published Stephen Phillips damning tirade against 38 Degrees this morning, another MP – Guy Opperman – has waded into the debate. He too is a former barrister and provides another comprehensive take-down of the deceitful misinterpretation of legal advice that the astro-turfing group are using to attack NHS reforms:

“The 38 Degrees website says: What our lawyers have identified within the Health and Social Care Bill: 

“The bill will remove the duty of the Secretary of State to provide or secure the provision of health services which has been a common and critical feature of all previous NHS legislation since 1946.

The implication and actual stated paragraph on the site under the title “what this could all mean” is that there will “no longer be a National Health Service”.

Paragraph 2 of the opinion by another junior counsel states that “Currently, the duty in section 3(1) has been delegated to Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). However, this is pursuant to statutory powers of delegation (for example under section 7 of the NHS Act 2006), and these powers can be exercised in a different way, or not exercised at all, if the Secretary of State so chooses.”

As the opinion makes clear there is going to be no significant change.

The 38 Degrees slant and their opinion simply do not match up. The opinion finishes by saying: “thus, there is no change at all in section 1(1).”

To argue that the “the government washes its hands of the NHS” based upon and arising out of these opinions would be laughable if it was not such a serious and flawed accusation. It is unsurprising that one barrister has not signed or acknowledged authorship of their opinion, given how it has been so abused. “

Guido is awaiting comment from 38 Degrees who haven’t returned his call yet. And this is all a bit embarrassing for “evidence based” blog Left Foot Forward, who rather than look at the facts, decide to reprint 38 Degree’s copy to attack Guido. Counsel’s advice is they’re all full of it…

“The Welsh Government is looking for new massage and complementary therapists to “de-stress” workers” reports the BBC. Is this really a good idea though?

Welsh politics and “massage” have not gone well together in the past. Cast your memory back to 2003:

“One of Wales’s most respected politicians was found dead in a massage parlour, it was confirmed today. Police are investigating after Dr Phil Williams, former shadow Welsh economic development minister, was found dead in Cardiff parlour “A Touch of Class”.”

You have been warned boyos…

After Darling finally told the truth over the last week about the splits and vicious divides at the top of the Labour government, this headline has certainly triggered the irony klaxon:

Funny that Gordon has time to knock out copy for the Chinese, but won’t turn up to Parliament to represent his constituents…

No wonder it took so long for the CPS to put this together – they are throwing the whole book at her. Perhaps now they will have more time now to focus on other politically sensitive cases…

If you fancy a laugh, mention the left-wing astro-turfing operation 38 Degrees to a government MP, or their staff. Their email list encourages people to spam MPs with the same email over and over again on whatever issue is bugging the left at that moment. One MP has seemingly had enough of  it. Stephen Phillips, a QC turned MP, decided to take a look at the “independent legal advice” that 38 Degrees are currently pushing around, concerning the NHS bill. His damning reply is well worth a read in full:

Funnily enough there hasn’t been a reply from 38 Degrees to the accusation they are misrepresenting legal advice in order to fit their agenda…

Having conned the taxpayer out of £98,000 the former Labour MP Margaret Moran will finally be charged by the CPS today. The other Labour MPs to face criminal charges have been tried and served, some of, their sentences in the time it has taken to show that Moran had three-second homes in four months and the dry rot she got fixed for £20,000 was at neither her constituency or second home.

The Telegraph weirdly refers to Moran as the last MP under investigation. Now that’s just not true, is it Mr MacShane?