Rachel Reeves admits breaking housing rules after failing to get a licence to rent out her Dulwich home, but Keir Starmer says an apology is enough. A penny for Angela Rayner’s thoughts - she too claimed she was wrongly advised - the prime minister and his Chancellor face a nervous morning to see the reaction. 

Plus, Sam’s been inside the Spectator Awards, where Lucy Powell and Shabana Mahmood jovially took aim at some of their Labour colleagues - and Nigel Farage vowed to take on Westminster's elite. 

The Chancellor’s on manoeuvres – talking in a new interview about “necessary choices” around the budget. Rachel Reeves says she needs to be “candid” and doesn’t want to “simply accept” forecasts – but to “defy them”. 

With four weeks to go to the budget, Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy ponder what she might be up to. They also have some sums on how the government might fill a black hole coming in above £30bn. Will Labour manifesto pledges be breached?

Elsewhere, Keir Starmer chooses a Labour veteran to lead their election campaigns next May. Spencer Livermore will take on the task. 

As Labour sinks to record lows in the latest YouGov poll, and the Chancellor wrestles with how to fill a £20billion budget gap, Keir Starmer’s government faces fresh pressure on migration, the economy and trust.  

Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy break down the day’s biggest stories in British politics. 

A bruising weekend for Keir Starmer: Labour loses its stronghold Caerphilly seat to Plaid Cymru in a by-election and faces fallout from the mistaken release and chaotic recapture of a convicted sex offender. 

Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy unpack what went wrong, as a damning report on the asylum system slams the Home Office. 

Plus, Lucy Powell makes her debut as Labour’s new deputy leader Chancellor Rachel Reeves has left the country to try to push through a Gulf trade deal. Will she be successful?