Lords reform will not be enough to wipe away the shame of loans for peerages

It is a strange form of bombardment. Days, sometimes weeks, can pass without any movement from the Metropolitan Police and it seems as if the all-clear is about to be sounded above the Downing Street bunker. Then, from nowhere, comes another arrest, a fresh revelation, and the turmoil starts again. Even the sadist in Gordon Brown will have seen enough by now, knowing that the pain inflicted on Tony Blair is inflicting lasting damage to the reputation of the party Brown will soon lead.

Once, the Chancellor hoped to draw a line under the disastrous loans-for-honours debacle with a triple whammy of legislation. He would agree a deal on party funding, the honours system and House of Lords reform which, together, could be billed as a new constitutional covenant. It would be his way of saying ‘never again’. But to achieve this, he would need a united party. And one of the many bitter legacies he will inherit is that Labour is returning to its old fractious self.