Martha Kearney's week

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/8040776.stm

Version 0 of 1.

By Martha Kearney Presenter, BBC Radio 4's World at One

The bombshell which most MPs at Westminster have been dreading has exploded prematurely.

MPs' spending habits are under intense scrutiny

And the timing couldn't be worse for Labour with the European and local elections just a month away.

Ministers acknowledge that even though there will be many bad stories to emerge about opposition MPs, it is the government which will suffer the most.

The difficult task of encouraging Labour supporters to turn out for an unpopular government in midterm elections has just been made much harder.

Admittedly no minister has been found to break any rules according to the information so far but the most damaging suggestions are that they exploited the system for financial gain by changing the designation of their second home.

This is supposed to be the place where they spend least time so it does seem strange, to say the least, that this should change from year to year.

Labour revolt

Many voters will also be puzzled by politicians who are given a grace and favour flat also claiming a second home.

And what else is yet to emerge?

You would imagine that ministers would be very careful about which expenses they claim.

Backbenchers who never supposed that these receipts would be made public may have been more careless.

Too many backbenchers see the best chance of saving their seats is to distance themselves from the government

One cabinet minister told me that he'd heard of colleagues fiddling their road mileage. So I don't think we should rule out by-elections just yet.

This comes at the end of a torrid political week. I shall never forget the sight of Joanna Lumley at yesterday's "press conference", eyes flashing and nostrils flaring at the immigration minister Phil Woolas.

It has been a whole week since the Gurkha defeat and despite a personal meeting with the PM, the government has failed to close the story down.

The whips are also admitting privately that they won't be able to quell the Labour revolt over the part privatisation of Royal Mail.

Unusual move

Too many backbenchers see the best chance of saving their seats is to distance themselves from the government.

In a highly unusual move, nine parliamentary aides have signed the critical motion.

Four of those PPSs told us that they would vote against the government unless there's a compromise.

On Wednesday's programme Stephen Hesford said that he would be prepared to sacrifice his job as a Parliamentary aide over the RoyalMail issue.

When I asked if he would resign, he said it would not be for him to decide on his position, but added: "If that was the consequence that would be the consequence."

And Labour backbencher John Grogan predicted up to 90 colleagues would vote against the government's proposals on partially privatising Royal Mail when they reached the Commons.

"I think you would have 70, 80, 90 backbenchers voting against the government," he said.

That vote, when the Bill is brought from the Lords to the Commons, could be as early as next month, shortly after the 4 June council and European elections.

He told me on Tuesday: "It would be a kamikaze move to bring it back then."

But ministers at BERR, the department which deals with postal affairs are adamant that not for profit models won't work for Royal Mail, given the sums of extra money needed to fund the pension deficit and to pay for modernisation.

That can only come from the private sector, they believe.

Their major worry is that commercial companies are less willing to invest because of the recession and that their business arguments may in the end be undermined by Number Ten deciding to go for a political fix.