Guess who's Camming to Dinner?

David Cameron is probably embarrassed and annoyed. The co-treasurer of his party, Peter Cruddas, has been forced to resign after a pair of Sunday Times journalists conducted a sting operation, which was videoed and played out to a storm of protest and controversy.

Mr Cruddas, looking and sounding like a be-suited Del-Boy, was apparently hawking access to the Prime Minister as though he was available for a cool six-figure sum to anyone who could pony up the cash. Of course, Mr Cruddas did the right thing and stood down as co-treasurer. It's unclear (to me at least) why there is (or was) more than one treasurer in the Tory party, but let's leave that for now.

In terms of reputation, David Cameron is bound to suffer from this sorry business, at least temporarily. Polls taken in the wake of the revelations have shown a big leap in support for the Labour Party, with a ComRes/Independent poll taken after the row broke on Sunday giving Labour 47% to the Conservatives' 30%. On a personal level, David Cameron's popularity still exceeds that of Labour leader Ed Milliband. But these are worrying times for the PM.

What should he do to preserve his somewhat tarnished reputation? He's done the right ting by publishing the names of large donors who came to dinner in his private flat above number ten. Unfortunately, he was seen to do so under pressure, after an initial Downing Street statement on Monday morning said he would not release the names. By lunchtime the same day, the decision was reversed, and the list of generous donors who came to dinner was made public.

In the grand scheme of things, this business will probably be seen as the improper conduct of a party official desperate for both funds and kudos. That's how the Tory Party will spin it. As far as the PM's reputation is concerned, he needs to distance himself rapidly from any suggestion of influence-wielding by donors of large sums. One way would be to bring forward proposals for reform of political party funding, with even more transparency. Since all parties have had similar "difficulties", it should be possible to get some form of consensus. If that's not possible, he may turn the spotlight on the Labour party and their dependence on union largesse.

Following on from a budget which was handled badly in PR terms, it's been a poor week for the reputation of the Tories in general, and David Cameron in particular. His judgement has been called into question after the departure of Andy Coulson and now Peter Cruddas. Ian Fleming's Auric Goldfinger had a saying; "Once is happenstance, twice is co-incidence, the third time it's enemy action" David Cameron must be hoping that the third time never happens.