So Gordon Brown has arrived in Coldharbour - and brought torrential rain with him.  It sort of says it all, really.  From the number of phone calls I have had from local residents it seems the general view is one of surprise that the Labour candidate thinks this is going to help him win the election.  We'll see.  But one thing's for sure - if you need to call on one of the most unpopular Prime Ministers in living memory to come and endorse your campaign, it's pretty desperate.

Mr Brown was asking the officers about their work - they say evenings are the worst for anti-social behaviour and agree strongly that giving kids more to do would make a difference.  Which begs the question why Labour's MP and local authority has done so little to provide those activities.

The Prime Minister has been caught out once again.  He entered the immigration debate (better late than never) and used statistics that were not only misleading, they were plain wrong.  He has been ticked off by the statistics watchdog - but this is not the first time he has used dodgy statistics.

Mr Brown seems to have a fondness for using statistics to back up his case, but too often his figures prove to be incorrect.  He had to apologise after misleading the Chilcot Inquiry, and his advertising campaign about the time police spend on the beat had to be withdrawn - but not before it had been aired to millions of voters and postcards distributed across marginal constituencies.

It becomes a matter of trust, as it did with Mr Blair before him.  Can we trust a man who, in spite of having access to the best advisers money can buy, seems to be incapable of quoting correct figures.  I think it might be that he's just too exhausted to do his job properly.  I would really hate to think he does it deliberately.  Would he?

The allegations made against the Prime Minister are extremely serious.  I do not intend making political capital from them, I actually believe the issue is far too serious for that.  I would like to see a full and urgent investigation and the results published quickly.  I would also like to see the Prime Minister ask HM The Queen for a general election so that we can clear the air and start concentrating on the challenges the government should be concentrating on.

Bullying is abhorrent.  I do not like bullies and I believe there is no place for them at any level, whether in school or in the work place.  And certainly not at the heart of government.  That is why I do not approve of the manner in which the Chief Executive of the charity at the heart of the more recent allegations has been pursued with ruthless determination by Labour spin doctors.  Whether she betrayed a confidence in alleging that some employees at Downing Street had called her helpline is a matter for people to take their own view.  What I do not think is in question is that when in a corner, the New Labour media management team shows a nasty and sinister side that could be described as bullying.

This whole episode distracts us from the failure of the current government to tackle the social and economic problems of the country, the lack of leadership from Mr Brown and the betrayal of the public over issues such as the Lisbon Treaty and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  It has brought the office of Prime Minister into disrepute at a time when trust in politicians is already rock bottom, and does nobody in public service any credit.

A female constituent emailed me today to say: "How coincidental, both Brown and Campbell cry during TV interviews so close to an election".  Clearly, the woman was suggesting there was a calculated attempt to secure sympathy in the hope that Labour might stand a better chance at the election.  It is a question being tackled on a number of blogs and will no doubt be a part of the news cycle for the remainder of this week (the interview with Mr Brown is due to air on Saturday).

I watched the interview with Alastair Campbell and didn't buy it for a moment.  He is a calculating media relations supremo who is known to stop at nothing to win.  He will have known exactly how to play that interview with Andrew Marr and will no doubt have seen the impact Hilary Clinton's tears had in one of her primary elections in the USA.  
I have not seen the interview with Mr Brown, but I shall be watching it next weekend.  I have no doubt that his very good friend Piers Morgan will have discussed the questions in advance and Mr Brown will have prepared for it. But whatever our differences of opinion on many things, I don't think anyone can ever fully recover from the death of a child.  I lost my mother to Breast Cancer nearly 5 years ago and I still find it difficult to accept.  I have huge sympathy for the Browns on a personal level.  It doesn't make me more inclined to vote for Mr Brown, any more than the loss of David Cameron's son makes him any more popular.  But I do think there is a danger that some, like my constituent, will question the timing of this interview.

Gordon Brown today identified some of the problems with the Broken Society.  He rightly said that too many children are having children; and that anti-social behaviour is making life difficult for many communities.  Big deal.  It's a bit like putting a plaster over a gaping hole on the bottom of a bucket of water.  What's he been doing since 1997?  Why has society broken down so badly?  Why are so many young people out of work, without hope, reliant on benefits?  How dare he say he'll put post offices at the heart of our communities when thousands have been closed by his own hand?  And what comfort was there for the millions struggling with redundancy, pay freezes, negative equity or financial ruin?  He didn't even address the central issue - that the country can't keep spending as it has under his stewardship.  Yet there he was, spending money he - and we - doesn't have.

If Gordon Brown had even taken 1% of the blame for the state this country is in - socially or economically - I'd have given him some credit.  But a lack of humility and the reliance on throwing insults at his opponents does not become a man in the highest elected office.  Then again, nobody elected him, did they?

The Opposition Foreign Affairs Whip and MP for Braintree, Brooks Newmark,

was in Eltham last night to address an audience of more than 70 people about the challenges facing a future Conservative government.  he spoke passionately about the failure of Gordon Brown to tackle personal debt as well as the way in which the current government has stoked up the collective debt of the country.

He answered questions on everything from Scottish devolution to the election of the new House of Commons Speaker.  He never sat on the fence!  

Brooks is a brilliant speaker, a class act and a big brain.  With intellect like his, a future Conservative administration should be in good hands.  The reception his speech received said it all.

I was elated to see the Commons defeat Gordon Brown's ridiculous and unfair plans to deny Gurkhas the right to live in this country after putting their lives on the line in our defence.  I am told that even Cabinet members were ashamed of the plan, which shows just how out of touch the Prime Minister is.

I firmly believe we need to limit immigration, and we need to put a cap on the number of people allowed to settle here.  But it seems entirely wrong to deny people who have given something to this country when so many who have contrinbuted nothing - and probably never will - are allowed to come in freely and claim benefits, use the human rights legislation to remain and then enjoy our public services for nothing.  What a rotten system.  What a good day for parliamentary democracy, at last.