Actor Patrick Stewart boldly goes where multi-millionaire leftie luvvies have never gone before and fires a photon torpedo at the Coalition in the Staggers:

“I have nothing but contempt for the expression ‘we’re all in this together’. That’s bullshit – we’re not all in this together. The members of the cabinet are not in the same position as the people who live near me in Bermondsey.”

Or indeed the people that used to live near him in California. At this house:

Seems he’s an expert at not being in this together.

With the prospect of Commons debate about dropping the health bill being forced by an government e-petition, lots of noise is being made about it being a sign of ordinary GPs fighting back. It was hardly an accident though. The GP that started the petition, Dr Kailash Chand, was taken on by former Shadow Health Secretary John Healey to run a policy review and is trying to become a Labour candidate.  This one is like cat-nip to Labour and if they couldn’t find 100,000 of their supporters to sign it, then they really would be in trouble…

Caroline Spelman was refused a super-injunction concerning a Daily Star Sunday story about her son Jonny on Saturday. She did manage to get a standard injunction to stop the paper running it, though that is being fought in the High Court tomorrow.

Guido has to wonder whether any other rising England Rugby star would have managed to stop the story appearing in print given that the judge specifically cited the seventeen year old’s mother’s job in the order. Mr Justice Lindblom said “there is a political dimension which cannot be ignored”.

And ignored it will not be – there are currently 185 mentions of the injunction on Google News…

Leaving aside IPPR’s massive shift to the left, that has culminated in quotes for Seamus Milne’s knocking copy, Guido had to chuckle at their latest email:

IPPR event series:
Where next for Europe?

The ‘democratic deficit’ and reform of the EU’s machinery

Tuesday 21st February 2012
12:30 – 14:00
IPPR Offices, 14 Buckingham Street, London WC2N 6DF

Nothing to do with the fact that IPPR stays afloat thanks to an €800,000 bung from the EU…

Only children get half-term, but there is always a big song and dance about MPs using recess to spend time in their constituency. Picking one MP at random, Guido decided to see if that was really the case…

Just because Parliament is in recess does not mean the Shadow Chancellor is not needed. With Mervyn King offering his latest pearls of wisdom this morning, you would have expected Balls to be very vocal today. He’s certainly not tweeting. Guido rang Ed’s mobile to no avail, though it did have a UK ringtone. He tried his Westminster office too:

“I’m afraid he’s in his constituency today.” 

Which is odd given the comical message on his constituency office voicemail:

“I’m afraid today, the 15th February, there will be no one available to take your call.”

One Labour source put it bluntly when Guido asked if Balls was about: “everyone’s on holiday”. The other Ed is apparently “working from home” this morning. 

UPDATE: Despite his office being shut, Ed Balls just popped up on the television from Leeds. In other news Peter Hain is in South Africa.

Some people are sceptical of the Curse of the One Eyed Son of the Manse and think that Guido exaggerates the power and reach of the curse. As this blog would take no pleasure in reporting, stock markets fell in the wake of his visits, natural and political disasters would hit the countries of leaders he met and the most powerful element of the curse was that any association with any sporting figures resulted in them losing. Raith Rovers had cause to regret Gordon Brown’s support…

Back in October 2009 Iain Martin predicted that the jinx would put fear into fans of Glasgow Rangers. With the Club going into bankruptcy, so it has come to pass…

See also: Brown Gets the Celtic Treatment

To hell with politicians! When are we going to find some to tell the truth in any country?
Don't hold your breath.—
Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) February 15, 2012