Four long days after the eye-popping revelations about MPs� expenses began, the question still has to be asked � do the honourable members at Westminster really get it?

Four long days after the eye-popping revelations about MPs' expenses began, the question still has to be asked - do the honourable members at Westminster really get it?

Gordon Brown, so slow to apologise over the 10p tax rate and the Damian McBride scandal, yesterday finally declared: "I want to apologise on behalf of politicians, on behalf of all parties, for what has happened in the events of the last few days."

Yet even here, David Cameron beat him to it, saying the s-word earlier in the day following the Tories' turn on the political rack.

One particular spotlight is burning brightly on Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, who has yet to answer fully why she nominated her London flat as her second home to the Commons authorities, enabling her to claim expenses on it, but nominated her Salford home to the Inland Revenue.

This meant she did not have to pay £18,000 in capital gains tax on the profit she made when she sold her London flat.

Ms Blears dodged reporters' questions by jumping into a waiting car but her Labour colleague John Mann was unequivocal when he declared: "Any Labour MP who isn't paying capital gains tax should not be a Labour MP. Tax avoidance in the Labour Party is unacceptable."

In the Commons, the eagerly-awaited statement from its figurehead Michael Martin was unexpected, to say the least.The normally avuncular Speaker was clearly angry and turned on a couple of MPs to denounce them for being media rent-a-quotes.

While he acknowledged that the defence of saying what MPs did was "within the rules" was inadequate and that his parliamentary colleagues had to consider also the "spirit of what is right", his statement appeared to express more concern about the way MPs' private details were released.

Of course, this is a perfectly legitimate point, yet it is not the one exercising the mind of the nation, which sees MPs abusing their position of authority at taxpayers' expense.

Mr Martin appears not to get it. He attacked Labour backencher Kate Hoey for her suggestion that calling in the police was a waste of time and her "pearls of wisdom" on late night TV while Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP who has been campaigning for greater transparency, was denounced as "another individual member who is keen to say to the press whatever the press wants to hear".

Despite all the revelations about charging the taxpayer for horse manure, dog food, piano-tuning and light bulb-changing, as well as the more costly "flipocrisy", any change to the second-home allowance is months away.

In the meantime, all the party leaders will be worried that the voters will punish them. Yet the reality is the biggest hit will be taken by Mr Brown and his colleagues, simply because they are nominally in charge.

The June 4 elections for English councils and Europe look like a Labour car crash waiting to happen. There could be a big abstention or even a swing to the BNP and UKIP. The full results are not due until the Sunday after the Thursday polling day.

There is a good chance that the PM will seek to get back in the driving seat by having a Cabinet reshuffle on the Monday morning. It looks like goodbye to Ms Blears - if she has not bailed out beforehand. Will it make a difference? Probably not.

Will Mr Brown survive until the summer? Probably, but that holiday in the west country cannot come soon enough from a PM, who appears to be suffering from the John Major syndrome - being in office but not in power.

Creative claims from the Tory front bench

Conservative front benchers had their expenses claims aired in public yesterday. Revelations on the party's backbenchers, said to be the most outrageous claims yet, are expected to follow.

How many MPs does it take to change a lightbulb? - David Willetts
The shadow innovation, universities and skills secretary claimed £115 plus VAT to replace 25 light bulbs at his second home in west London.

On the same claim - part of a £2191 invoice for odd jobs that included cleaning a shower head - Mr Willetts charged another £80 to "change lightbulbs in bathroom". Parliamentary authorities pared the bill back by more than £1,000, refusing to refund £175 for a dog enclosure and £750 for a shed base.

Keys to the door - Chris Grayling
The shadow home secretary received thousands of pounds to renovate a London flat 17 miles from his constituency home.

In an unusual arrangement, Mr Grayling negotiated with the fees to claim £625 a month for mortgages on two separate properties - the main home in Ashtead, Surrey, and the new flat. Mr Grayling already apparently owned three properties within the M25.

He is also alleged to have delayed putting in claims for decorating and refurbishing costs so he could receive the maximum in Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) over consecutive years.

Garden of delights - Alan Duncan.
The Shadow Commons leader claimed thousands of pounds for gardening over three years but stopped and agreed with the Commons authorities that the claims "could be considered excessive". The gardener was being paid £6 an hour for 16 hours' work each week on grounds of less than an acre.

Who needs to be a millionaire? - George Osborne
The parliamentary authorities considered the shadow chancellor's personal website too "political"

to be publicly funded. He also put a £440.62 bill for a chauffeur company to drive him from Cheshire to London on November 11 2005 on expenses. The records showed he also claimed hundreds of pounds for cleaning and remortgaged his second home in Cheshire, increasing his monthly mortgage interest bill from £1560 a month to nearly £1900.

Wisteria Lane - David Cameron
The Tory leader put a total of £141,820 on his second-home allowance over five years. The majority of Mr Cameron's claims were for mortgage interest and utility bills for his Oxfordshire constituency home. One exception was a £680 bill for repairs to the property, which included clearing wisteria and vines from a chimney, replacing outside lights and resealing his conservatory's roof. Mr Cameron's expenses appeared relatively straightforward compared to other members of the shadow cabinet.

Give the dog a bone - Cheryl Gillan
The shadow Welsh secretary spent taxpayers' money on dog food. She said the £4.47 claim was an error and promised to repay the money.

Good game - Oliver Letwin
Mr Letwin, who is in charge of drawing up the Conservative General Election manifesto, claimed more than £2000 to replace a leaking pipe - under his tennis court. He said he had been ordered to mend the pipe by the local water company and did not make any improvements to the court or his garden.

No flipocrisy here - Michael Gove
The shadow schools secretary has strongly denied he "flipped"

addresses to take advantage of the system. When his children reached school age he moved his home to the constituency and claimed the costs. He has apologised for spending nearly £500 on a single night in a hotel.

Two homes, four minutes apart - Francis Maude
The shadow Cabinet Office minister, responsible for preparing the Tories for power, claimed almost £35,000 over two years for a mortgage on a London flat a few minutes walk from a house he already owned and then rented out.

Take a bus - Theresa Villiers
The shadow transport secretary claimed nearly £16,000 in stamp duty and fees for a London flat, despite already having another property in the capital that was only 14 miles from Westminster.