No-one can now deny that the MPs expenses issue has done immense damage to the reputation of Parliament. True, it’s a diversion from serious policy issues, and that there’s a lot of hypocrisy flying about with a holier-than-thou media salivating at yet another poke at elected politicians. But the damage is real. And there’s a lot of collateral damage too; elected members in local government and public servants in a wide range of public bodies will suffer from this serious erosion of trust.

Set against the recent debate on the relative merits of representative and participative democracy, it makes for a fascinating development. Guido Fawkes or Iain Dale have not been elected, but have acquired tremendous influence as part of the blogosphere. And thousands of ordinary citizens are discussing the situation online in a wide range of forums. Facebook is full of people’s opinions; Twitter may restrict you to 140 characters, but you’d be surprised how much anti-politician venom can be expressed in a few short words!