Bribes & Blunders

Frank Field may have apologised, but it's far too little too late to save Gordon Brown's premiership. Not even the most expensive by-election bribe in history will manage that, though it has given a boost to Labour's hopes in Crewe. Even so, a government that keeps changing tack for opportunistic reasons is not only a government the electorate will not trust, it is a government struggling to survive. I would be very surprised if voters in Crewe will be fooled. In fact, they may feel downright insulted. Labour is badly wounded, polls have given the Tories a lead in Crewe, and both the public and the media alike have scented blood.

And just when the cabinet thought they had saved the Titanic, yet another iceberg appears out of the mist. And another one!