How much does Damian McBride’s disgrace actually matter?

The first thing to say about the downfall of Damian McBride is, of course, how entertaining it is. Gordon Brown’s machine has deserved this kind of comeuppance for years. These are, and always have been, thoroughly disreputable people and, while there are plenty of people in the Labour party who might be wondering today why they’ve tolerated the McBrides of this world for so long, the questions don’t end there.

After all, McBride and his ilk depend upon the connivance of the press to operate effectively. There’s something amusing too about seeing the press do its finest Captain Renault impression, declaring itself Shocked! that this is the way that Downing Street’s battalion of spivs and bruisers operates when the press has spent years enjoying the political pornography these people produce. Take this marvellous paragraph from the News of the World’s story:

Perhaps the most appalling smear was the false rumour that David Cameron suffers from an embarrassing health problem.