It was understandable that tempers should have been frayed at the heart of Government in May: it saw the publication of The Daily Telegraph's highly damaging expenses files. July, too, was a difficult month for Brown with his much-ridiculed pledge in the Commons to bring in a "zero percent increase" in public spending and Lord Malloch-Brown's resignation from the Government. If the PM's big, clunking fist was to blame for the busted keyboards in those months, it seemed more stilled in the three months to February this year when only five new keyboards were required during each of these months. This coincided with Brown's Lazarus-like revival in the polls. The full keyboard casualty list is as follows: March – ten; April – ten; May – 12; June – eight; July – 12; August – eight; Sept – eight; Oct – eight; Nov – nine; Dec – five; Jan – five; Feb – five.