Just a day after John MacDougall sadly died, the journalists are already preparing their talking points for the by-election expected in October. Already it’s “make or break” for Gordon Brown we’re told, just as we were about both the Crewe and Glasgow East by-elections.

It’s nonsense of course. Just as those by-elections didn’t result in Gordon packing his bags, nor will Glenrothes. But another common refrain is also being written by the Tory press. It can be summarised by the question “where is Gordon?”

We've all seen them - the replies after an online newspaper article - but how do we interpret them to save reading drivel?

You need the Labour guide to online comments!

Once you've read this guide you'll not only instantly be able to paint a picture of the writer, but you'll also be able to move on to the next comment without any fear that you've missed anything important...

The press is unsympathetic or downright hostile to Labour, yet Labour is full of newsmakers pumping out press releases every day. And with increasing numbers using the Internet to search for both local and national news, the positive Labour stories are still hard to find online.

Now a new site - Labour Matters - aims to help change that for the better...