Gordon Brown is under pressure to publicly apologise again, this time not for his handling of the economy or the war in Iraq; instead it is the Damian McBride email scandal that is providing the latest thorn in his side. A speedy resignation from the No.10 strategist was classic damage limitation. However, this story looks set to run with Cameron reportedly furious about the exposé and demanding an apology from Brown.
The emails were sent to Derek Draper (ex Labour spin doctor) of Labour List fame, who has been spearheading Labour’s growing online presence, now John Prescott has called for his head on his blog, "I understand one man has left his job at No 10 – and quite rightly so. I believe Derek Draper should now follow him too."
The PM has written to the MPs concerned to offering regret over the incident, the PMs spokesman has stated that no public apology will be made. This could be yet another nail in Labour’s coffin, Brown’s reluctance to come out strong publicly against such behaviour will further alienate a large sway of already disaffected Labour party supporters.
In private, David Cameron will be thankful for such a juicy Easter gift, unfortunately for him there is no opportunity to harangue Brown in Parliament this week, though the media seem set to do that for him. Undoubtedly, the Labour spin machine is once again in a very public tangle, for the government that once stated they would be “whiter than white”, ‘smeargate’ may prove to be a stain that will not wash out.
The scandal also highlights the shift taking place in political media; the scandal was exposed by the prominent centre right blogger Guido Fawkes (then handed to a Sunday newspaper). Clearly the power of the political blogosphere is not akin to the ‘old media’ style of control employed by the government, instead a much more pragmatic and engaging strategy must be employed.
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