Chippy Minton

Steveo - the government still refuses to publish the risk register; the Drop the Bill e-petition on the government's official site is now the most signed ever; Clegg and the Lib Dems are still refusing to back it; backbench Tories are calling for patients to be sent statements detailing how much they cost the NHS in order to prepare them for having to pay for it; and Lansley's own cabinet colleagues say "he should be shot" for his handling of the Bill. It's crazy for Cameron to refuse to even discuss the issues with the patient groups, health charities and professionals in the NHS.

I agree completely. It's a shame Cameron didn't agree earlier this week when he failed to ask the groups opposing the Bill to Downing Street. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there isn't a single Royal College that has actually given unconditional support for the Bill - many have called for the whole thing to be scrapped outright and even those that are less critical are either hostile or still have concerns. With most of the general public not trusting the government's handingly of the NHS, do you really think the best way to reform is to not consult the professionals that work in the organisation and that will be responsible for implementing the changes?

Not sure if it would be the same for a witness, but I did jury service last year and was able to claim childcare costs, but you had to prove the amount with a receipt from a registered childcare i.e. someone who is Ofsted registered.

Your suspicions are true http://socialinvestigations.blogspot.com/2012/02/nhs-privatisation-compilation-of.html

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Rangers fans are delighted an Italian-based billionaire has bought the club. Administrators are trying to figure out how to tell them its the Pope.

The England players struggled enough with Capello's accent. Imagine the confusion that would reign if they had to try and understand McCarthy's ;-)

There will be Championship clubs after him. He's solid, got sides out of that division before and he's loyal - he was one of the longest serving managers in the Prem before today.

It is true that legally schools in England and Wales have to ensure pupils should take part in an act of "collective worship" everyday, but this is subject to the "parental right of excusal." I think it's different in Scotland and NI.

The sheer number of changes being proposed in the Bill mean that despite the admin savings from abolishing PCTs and SHAs there is a real risk that additional bureaucracy will be created. Also, the NHS has made significant progress since 1997. It currently costs circa ?100bn per year to run. Raising basic rate tax by just 1% would raise circa ?4.75bn per year. Even with an ageing population and even if no reforms were introduced, I don't think it's necessary to increase its budget by circa 50% just to maintain current standards.

That's the point EP - they are down at their respective grounds, but England gives them the chance to experience something else. Hardly glory hunters - England haven't had any of that for two generations.

That's how I see it Red. It always strikes me that England games are littered with flags from lower league clubs - often very low league! I think it gives a lot of people the opportunity to go to games in grounds, in big cities, in countries they would never normally visit. Supporters of top Premiership clubs have the opportunity to go the big grounds week in week out in England and up to a dozen times in Europe every season. Having said all that, every top Premiership club supporter I've met would still swap a league title for a World Cup.

In my experience it's usually supporters of the top six Premiership sides that put club before country because it still offers that glimmer of hope of winning something. If, by some miracle, we got to the final of the Euros or a World Cup, I wonder how Utd, Chelsea, Arse etc fans would swap a win in that final for winning the Premier league (again)?

Pards has "ruled himself out" although it's easy to do that before you've even been approached. How about Big Ron - he has the race relations experience ;-)

Rightly or wrongly, the FA have already said Terry can no longer be the captain. Whoever is the new manager will just have to accept that.

:)) I'm sure he could 'ave a word to see if something 'could be done' for us. After all, it's not like footballing federation big wigs are strangers to brown envelopes ;-)

Not good for the government and Lansley on this today. Firstly, both the Community Practitioners? and Health Visitors? Association and the Faculty of Public Health have become the latest professional bodies to come out against the Bill. Then tonight, it loses the vote in the Lords regarding the priority given to mental health.

Will his uncle do it after the Euros then? I don't want Hodgson or, even worse, Pearce to be given it temporarily. We might as well not go in June. At least Harry would give us a chance - players buoyed up etc. It'll be the "Harry Bounce!"

There's only the Holland game in a couple of weeks when he'd need to be both England and Spurs manager. The next England game isn't until after the Premiership season has finished. Give it to Harry now.

Spending was only slightly up during the last couple of years of the Labour Government. The drop in tax receipts because of the financial crisis was the biggest reason for the deficit. And how exactly do you measure education standards? The Office for National Statistics shows that between 1996-2008 the resources that went into schools - number of teachers, classroom assistants, books etc) rose by around 30%. At the same time, the 'outputs' of schools - measured by the numbers of of kids being educated, attendance rates and GCSE grades - also rose by around 30%.

Think yourself lucky. Bedford is hardly the other end of the country. We were expected, and went to, my mum's 70th birthday two weeks after the birth of our second. It was a five hour drive. In snow. And we had to leave in evening rushhour.

That puts Harry in a tricky situation. Would he walkout on Spurs mid-season or could he try and do both until after the Euros?

Got to be the next England manager now. Look out for friendlies with Monaco, the Cayman Islands, Jersey and Bermuda.

Not guilty! 'Arry needs to sign-up his QC on a permanent deal!

There's a new report published today that claims a European-wide tax would boost growth in Europe by at least 0.25%