TONY Blair is quite right when he says the government should be judged on its policy record, but politics is not like that - and he knows it.

For while ministers are queuing up this week to announce new initiatives on education, crime and social security the murk surrounding New Labour remains too thick yet to be blown away by a series of high-profile speeches aimed at relaunching its image.

It is impossible for Labour's reputation not to have suffered in these past three weeks of Cabinet scandals.

Early opinion polls after the revelations and resignations of the Mandelson affair show its popularity has suffered as a result.

Now, with Foreign Secretary Robin Cook branded a serial adulterer and drunk by his ex-wife, the government looks set to suffer even more, even though the public's judgment may be tempered by some disapproval of Mrs Cook's revenge.

But, with two ministers and a senior aide quitting as the Mandelson episode revealed a Cabinet beset by personality clashes and, now, the mud hurled at Mr Cook adding to the government's wounds at the hands of gossip-column politics, it will take all Mr Blair's own high standing and authority to restore New Labour's reputation.

And while it is true that, essentially, none of these scandals affected the ability of the personalities involved to do a good job - or even a superb one, according to the credit the Prime Minister gives the shamed Mr Cook - another truth is that such things do matter to voters, just as the opinion polls show.

They matter, too, in politics despite Mr Blair's preference for the focus to be on policies, not personalities.

And he knows fine well that if Labour was still in opposition, it would be condemning the sleaze tainting the government for all its worth.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.