The Tory party has been wracked by an ongoing sleaze scandal. In what has seemed like an unrelenting series of negative headlines and damaging allegations, the 2020 partygate scandal was just the beginning.
But in the last few weeks, the party saw an opportunity to shift the focus away from themselves. When media reports started homing in on Angela Rayner's tax affairs, it came as no surprise that Tory MPs and officials were rubbing their hands with glee.
What started as commentary and speculation has now snowballed into a full-blown police investigation, with Greater Manchester police this week confirming that they are investigating multiple offences.
While it may have begun as a simple Tory attack line, it now has serious weight to it - and has the opportunity to derail the credibility of Labour's top team entirely. As Olivia Utley writes here, the impact on their election campaign could be brutal.
The number of MPs sitting as independents now outnumber the Liberal Democrats in parliament
PA
But to the Conservative Party's dismay, the heat sitting primarily on Labour didn't last long.
Last night, it emerged that Tory MP Mark Menzies has been accused of using campaign funds for personal expenses, including one incident where he is said to have asked his former campaign manager for £5,000 to pay "bad people" who he claimed had detained him overnight in a flat.
A source close to Menzies told the Times that he had met a man on an online dating website and gone to the man’s flat, before subsequently going with another man to a second address where he continued drinking.
He was said to have been sick at one point and several people at the address demanded £5,000, claiming it was for cleaning up and other expenses.
Unsurprisingly, the attention has shifted firmly back to the governing party - at least for now.
As we head into an election year, both the Tories and Labour are trying their best to paint each other as a party that can't be trusted.
The Tories' track record is arguably worse than Labour when it comes to breaches of confidence, with the partygate investigation having taken a chunk out of their credibility - but neither can present themselves as having a clean slate.
Take one look at the numbers and they speak for themselves. The number of MPs sitting as independents now outnumber the Liberal Democrats in Parliament.
Including Menzies, who was stripped of the whip last night, there are 10 Tory MPs, seven Labour, two SNP, one DUP and one Plaid Cymru who are suspended or have lost the whip.
Clearly, breaches of confidence in parliament do not discriminate between parties. And as we head into an election year and the attack lines ramp up, it looks like all sides are in a race to the bottom.
