David Cameron has launched a very personal attack on Gordon Brown over the expenses issue. In his midday speech, the Tory leader called Gordon Brown “secretive” and “power-hoarding”. Labour politics were just a “demented branch of the entertainment industry”, he added.

Both party leaders have been robust with each other before, but the overall tone of the election campaign changed to a very biting one today. Cameron also detailed his plans to reform Parliament and the lobbying industry.

Fair enough that the Tory leader tries to separate the Conservatives from a Westminster culture tainted with scandal. But is it really clever to try to pin these problems personally to Gordon Brown?

Hearing a former member of the Bullingdon Club make claims that the PM is a “shameless defender of the old elite” is slightly odd. And failing to mention that Conservative MPs were also well involved into the expenses scandal gives it a rather doubtful connotation.

The Conservative campaign strategy has appeared confident so far. But today is a different tactic. It remains to be seen whether David Cameron’s biting rhetoric today will rectify the wobbles of airbrushing and marriage tax.