British politics is dragged through the mud as Cameron takes the lead

First it was Labour's turn, then it was the Conservatives and today it is the Liberal Democrats' turn to have their reputations dragged through the mud.

However, entertaining as it has been to see so many politicians embarrassed, this does no good at all to British politics. At a time when the domestic (and global) economy is at a standstill, it is a pity that Prime Minister's questions today, was spent squabbling over who paid back what and who claimed for this?

The Tories expenses have been arguably the most embarrassing claims yet. Douglas Hogg's moat cleaning has to get the prize for 'most original expense claimed' with Oliver Letwin's claim for a leaking pipe under his tennis court coming a close second.

Cameron takes the initiative

Despite this though, David Cameron has somehow come out of the last few days on top. Yesterday he took the initiative by saying that Tory MPs who refused to pay back "excessive" claims would not be Conservative MPs for much longer. This was a firm stance and perhaps as a result, the government were left scrambling to keep up.

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears held up a cheque for £13,332, money she made from dodging capital gains tax (although she did not break any rules), and Gordon Brown claimed to have cross-party support for his new plans to review all expenses claims going back four years.

It was later revealed that this cross-party support was not fully agreed although it was discussed, and that Brown appeared to have been caught on the hop. The Tories have been just as bad as Labour in terms of their abuse of the system, but by failing to act sooner Brown has been left behind.

Lame duck government

Michael Howard, the former Conservative leader, described today's government as a "lame duck" government, while speaking on the BBC's Daily Politics, and in today's Prime Minister's questions this was all too telling. Brown was unable to think on his feet while Cameron was offering up new ideas.

One of his ideas today was not a new one, the idea to cut the number of MPs, but it is one that could capture public opinion. This is the key to the middle ground right now, and the ailing Labour government have shown themselves to be way out of touch.

Of course this happens to most governments on the way out but at a time when the economic situation is so dire, the country needs strong leadership. Brown is a good politician, but crucially he appears to be losing the support of his party, and when that happens, as it did for Margaret Thatcher in 1990, there is only one way to go, and that is towards the exit.

A challenge to Brown?

David Cameron has used the expenses row to put himself in the shop window as a future leader, and Brown has not used it at all. It will be very interesting to see how the summer pans out. Labour MPs will certainly be getting twitchy, but just who would be willing to stand against Gordon Brown?

Alan Johnson could be a good option, and if the economy starts to pick up, there might just be hope for Labour, but Brown is a survivor and will not go down without a fight. Anyone wanting to deal a knock-out blow to Brown had better be prepared for a scrap, and Johnson may well think better of it.

This week will not be looked back on as one of British politics finest hours, but hopefully it will lead to positive changes to the MPs' expenses system. It is just a shame that so much damage was done before things could begin to be mended.