e-muck on the web!

Gordon Brown must be wondering what politics can do to him next. I get the impression that he hasn't got the right kind of control over these No.10 apparatchiks. He goes about now expressing "much regret" and says he is calling for a tighter aides' code of conduct. My goodness, has the man seen this code? It's as tight as it should be.

The Easter break was a time of self-imposed restriction for me. No blogging over the festivities. But it's a hell of strain when we've got such a Jekyll and Hyde prime minister. So I'm back in harness, raring to go. Lance Price, a former BBC reporter turned New Labour spin doctor who spun himself out of a job, thinks there are too many bloggers like me. Those on the right, that is.

We are only here to carp at the Government. Well, yes, but also no. I don't see this as an attack blog, more of one that highlights palpable corruption, spin and deceit. The very fact that these made-up stories, that the creepy Damian McBride thought was good stuff, were being hatched inside No.10 is something we should all be concerned about.

Gordon Brown sounds like a man who is like a startled rabbit in the headlights of McBride's car. All something he knew nothing about until it suddenly came round the corner. But I can't take that on face value. People like McBride don't act like this unless they think or assume that their boss will be pleased as punch with the outcome.

What is wrong here is that the seedy corruption that is New Labour (oh, for the Old Labour decency of men like Eric Heffer!) is all below the belt stuff. Frances Osborne, the shadow chancellor's wife, should never have had such digusting stuff made up about her. Have a go, politically, at her husband if you want, but keep out of the gutter, please!

The leery face of Derek Draper rises out of all this. I imagine Mr.Draper has a very good side to him, otherwise he would or could not possibly get past Kate Galloway. But this episode shows up the unattractive side of the New Labour machine. I hardly dare suggest there is an attractive side. In fact, if I racked my brains all night, I'd be hard pressed to come up with anything decent this shower has done.

Far from being criticised, those of us who blog from the right should be given some credit. In this, the credit goes to Guido Fawkes for uncovering this scandal. It's his sort of reporting that puts him at the top of the bloggers' list (No.2, I think). We've had no words of regret from Draper or McBride. Gordon Brown is trying to distance himself from the stormdrains.

The Conservatives are right to demand a fullsome apology from the prime minister. This time he just has to say sorry.