THERE’S been so much happening in these last 10 days that some things of significance may pass us by with little comment.

For me, one of the most interesting things about the past week, has been the way the fortunes of the two main party leaders appear to have switched.

Before the phone-hacking story, David Cameron appeared to be bumping along happily enough, still in the glad, confident morning of his premiership.

Across the floor of the House of Commons, Ed Miliband (inset) was floundering at Prime Minister’s Questions, leading to grumbles of discontent from his backbenchers and whispered talk of a leadership challenge.

What a difference a week and a half makes.

Mr Cameron was the one who was floundering at last week’s PMQs, barracked as he tried to address the phone-hacking issue. His decision – foolish at the time, absurd now – to hire Andy Coulson as his spin doctor in 2007 means he is umbilically linked to the scandal.

Mr Miliband is hardly in a position to gloat. He was a member of the last Labour government which spent so much time licking up to Mr Murdoch’s attack dogs.

Despite this, the Labour leader has had a good crisis thus far. He has appeared to be much more in step with public opinion than the Prime Minister, calling for Rebekah Brooks to go early on and generally sounding like he was outraged by the news seeping out of Wapping.

It reminded me of another Leader of the Opposition who managed to turn the MPs’ expenses scandal to his benefit by going in hard and early on his own backbench gorgers.

That was David Cameron, all of two years ago. I wonder who advised him to speak out so strongly against his own MPs so early in the crisis…