Gordon Brown has lost all moral authority

So this is the way New Labour ends – in a shower of immorality. Sure, the expenses scandals were bad enough, but Brown could wriggle out of those; promise a review; and wait for the revelations to appear about Tory and Lib Dem MPs. But Damian McBride and “Smeargate” is something else; something altogether more final. The public is getting its clearest glimpse yet into the workings of the Brown machine. And it’s a grim sight.

It’s always puzzled me how Brown has managed to perpetuate the “son of the manse” shtick. Read any biography of the man – I’d recommend Tom Bower’s – and the truth is clear: his is a political career built largely on gangsterism and deceit. Yet there’s always been this abiding impression that he’s just industrious ol’ Brown, getting on with the job. That’s why the ad-men could produce those “Not Flash, Just Gordon” posters in 2007, and why he could take over from Blair with excited talk about “no more spin”.