Health Minister Simon Hugh McGuigan Burns isn’t the brightest lamp in the street. Despite a privileged public school background, Burns left Oxford University with what amounts to a ‘pass ‘ degree – a Third Class Honours degree, which is the university’s way of saying, well, he turned up. This earned him the nickname ‘third degree Burns’ amongst his more cruel contemporaries.
And now it seems ‘third degree’ is trying to punch 35 degrees above his weight. He described those who used the 38 Degrees website to contact their Members of Parliament as “zombies” for having the temerity to contact their MPs over health reforms designed to privatise the NHS, which are being introduced by Burns and his fellow zombie Ministers, and which have never been put before the British people.
More details here, including your chance to tell 3rd Degree Burns that you are citizens, not zombies.
I don’t have a degree unless the University of Hard Knocks and University of Crime count for anything.
On the other hand Michael Howard is formally qualified and today he writes in the Telegraph that
“Parliament must redefine human rights
Britain’s courts should be stopped from slavishly following Strasbourg’s rulings”.
In a nutshell he argues:
“The argument is not about human rights, to which we all subscribe…No, the argument today is whether arrangements such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act actually help to protect such rights or, by the way in which they have been operated, tend to bring the concept into disrepute”.
As a human rights defender I would contend that the argument is about human rights and that the UK is a failing State in that it does not ensure human rights are guaranteed and that no effective remedy is provided by a national authority for their breach.
The obligations to abide by the Convention and Court’s decisions fall to the Executive, Parliament and Judiciary.
To preserve the doctrine of the Supremacy of Parliament human rights were sacrificed when the HRA was enacted. Articles 1 and 13 which provide all in the UK with the human rights under the Convention, and for an effective remedy were not incorporated. Hirst v UK (No2) is evidence that the HRA is toothless.
If Michael Howard subscribes to human rights like he claims, why does he oppose convicted prisoners human right to the vote?
The Convention does not protect human rights, it is for the UK to protect human rights. Once the Court has judged a human rights violation, it falls upon the UK to remedy the breach and prevent further breaches.
It is not the concept of human rights which is in disrepute, rather the reputation of the likes of Michael Howard QC, PC who are disreputable.
Worrying developments on the NHS privatisation story, following on from the Hinchingbrooke Hospital take over by Circle Health. It seems there is a connection between Circle Health and one of Andrew Lansley’s adviser/s…as mentioned in the KONP film below,
KONP (Keep our NHS Public): a short film about lobbying and the sad story NHS privatisation story called “The Health Industry Lobbying Tour” (scroll down the bottom of the web page) and you will be amazed (or not) at the connections between private companies and the Tory party.
http://www.keepournhspublic.com/index.php
Here is another short film highlighting how the NHS is being secretly privatised,
You Tube: NHS Privatisation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNiruX2gZDc
The Labour Party has a useful web link http://www.labour.org.uk/dropthebill to sign. It gives the impression if the bill can be dropped – privatisation of the NHS will stop. All the information available indicates this is an ongoing campaign by the Tory party to (secretly) privatise the NHS, whatever the outcome of the Health and Social Care Bill.