The first of our featured articles, from the New Statesman gives the latest rumours on loans-for-peerages. According to Martin Bright:

"Cash for honours, loans for peerages, or just plain old-fashioned political shenanigans? Call it what you like, the Labour Party's ill-conceived scheme to raise a fighting-fund for last year's election campaign has already proved disastrous. Even before Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Yates of Scotland Yard presents his findings to the Crown Prosecution Service, the party is broke, its activists are demoralised and its future is uncertain."

That much we knew, I suppose. But the insider gossip is apparently that:

party officials now believe the loans scheme was dreamt up at a meeting attended by Blair and a tiny group of trusted loyalists: possibly just Levy; Jonathan Powell, the chief of staff at No 10; and the then party general secretary Matt Carter.

But the Labour National Executive is said to have been briefed at an early stage.

"Labour future" means Brown, of course (It is hard to see John Reid running a sufficient number of terrorism scares to find himself running the country.) The Telegraph reports that

Mr Brown's first 100 days will be modelled on New Labour's blitz of policy announced after Tony Blair was swept to power in 1997.

Plans include moves to strengthen the role of Parliament, to clean up party funding after the "loans for peerages" affair, to reduce the powers of political advisers and to outflank David Cameron on the environment.

As a sign of what is to come, it emerged yesterday that air travellers and owners of petrol-guzzling cars will be targeted for sharp tax rises in Mr Brown's Pre-Budget Report next month.

Separately, details emerged from a No10 policy document of a new contract between the state and citizen setting out what individuals must do in return for key services.