Suddenly, sorry seems to be the easiest word to say. Britain's party political leaders have been falling over themselves to apologise for the parliamentary expenses scandal. David Cameron has said he may suspend MPs from the party for abusing the scandalously lax expenses system. And in the media, the new Russian owners of the London Evening Standard have launched an expensive advertising campaign saying sorry for the paper's activities under its old owners.

I can't help feeling other voters will share my deep scepticism about this rush of humility. (I've written before on Ertblog about the dubious nature of political apologies.) 

Take the politicians first. Brown, Cameron and Clegg only expressed the S word because their cronies were exposed as corrupt. The first instinct of all those dishonourable members was to say they hadn't broken the rules, ignoring the fact they designed the rules that lined their own pockets. Take Hazel Blears: the communities secretary has said she will pay £13,000 capital gains tax due on the property she designated as her second home. I didn't realised she had a choice: the rest of us can't choose whether to pay tax, it's imposed on us. I expect Blears to resign while a criminal investigation is opened into her tax evasion. And every other crooked MP of all parties. 'Sorry' doesn't cover it. 

Do MPs really understand why we're all so angry about this fundamental breach of trust between the elected and the electorate? Do they see why their behaviour is totally unacceptable? My feeling is that this generation of professional politicians is so tainted that only a complete clear out will start to rebuild trust. That's not to say that all politicians are corrupt: Kerry McCarthy, Labour MP for Bristol East, offered an excellent and candid reflection on the complexities of the issue on her blog last weekend. And I'm even willing to give our local MP, Cheryl Gillan, the benefit of the doubt for claiming for dog food. But voters won't offer credit to good MPs given that parliament's closed shop allowed the scandalous abuse of taxpayers' money to develop. The last straw was the appalling speaker Michael Martin's tirade against the press for exposing the story. And the parliamentary authorities instinct to call in the police not to investigate corruption and tax evasion – but to hound the media for exposing the scandal.

I am uneasy that the Daily Telegraph paid for the leaked document detailing MPs' expenses – and the way the paper attacked Labour ministers and MPs for days before turning its attention to other parties' MPs. That was deeply partisan. But I suspect all the major parties will suffer badly from voters' backlash. Let's just hope parties like the BNP don't benefit at the polls.

Standard's sorry: masterstroke or blunder?

Finally, a media apology. London's Evening Standard has been saying sorry: for being out of touch, predictable and negative. A bold move, you might think. But wait: the Standard's owners are saying sorry for the activities of its predecessors, Associated Newspapers. That's easy – like Tony Blair apologising for the slave trade (but not Iraq). I was critical of the 'old' Evening Standard's blatant propaganda for Boris Johnson, and welcome its more open approach. But no one should forget that this is simply an old style marketing campaign for a 'new and improved product'. Not an apology.