Katy Balls

This time last week, Philip Hammond stood in the Chamber and made a joke about how the last Chancellor to proclaim they would deliver the last Spring Budget had been sacked 10 weeks later. Little did he then know that just seven days later he would have to face down angry MPs questioning his future -- as he appeared in the House to explain the government's NICs U-turn. Flanked by Theresa May and David Gauke, Hammond was met with heckles as he said the government had come to the conclusion that while the national insurance class 4 rise is compatible with the tax lock legislation, it 'does not meet a wider understanding of the spirit of that commitment'. As a result of this, there will be no rise in national insurance in this Parliament.

Theresa May's statement today on the EU withdrawal bill should have been a victory lap – after the government succeeded in getting a clean bill through both Houses. Instead Scottish independence proved a party pooper, as the Prime Minister faced numerous questions in the chamber over Nicola Sturgeon's plans for 'indy ref 2'. Not letting up the pressure, Angus Robertson, the SNP leader at Westminster, poked fun at the Prime Minister for 'delaying' the triggering of Article 50 following Sturgeon's independence announcement yesterday.

The government has successfully defeated the two Lords amendments to its Article 50 bill. MPs voted down the first amendment, committing the government to guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals, by a majority of 48 -- which means the government managed to increase its majority of 42 from the first vote. On the 'meaningful vote' amendment, this was defeated by 331 to 286. The clean bill will now return to the Lords where it is expected to pass tonight with no further amendments -- after Baroness Smith, the shadow leader of the Lords, promised there would be no protracted game of ping pong. The fact that the meaningful vote amendment was defeated by such a comfortable margin ought to put any would-be rebels off trying to put it back in.

Liam Fox has (for a change) unfairly become the subject of much mockery this week, over his department's plans for 'Empire 2.0'. The name relates to the International Trade Secretary's plot to boost trade links with African Commonwealth nations by promising developing nations that their trading relationships with the UK will not get worse after Brexit. Contrary to many online jokes, the name was not concocted by an egocentric International Trade Secretary, but instead Whitehall officials who think it is misguided to place too much importance on trade with the Commonwealth, compared with the EU. It comes as the head of the Commonwealth secretariat has called for Britain to 'go an awful lot faster' in forging trading links with the 52-member group.

As Philip Hammond faces a slew of negative headlines and fields accusations that he is a liar over his decision to backtrack on a 2015 Tory manifesto pledge and raise National Insurance for the self-employed, the Chancellor has been thrown a lifeline by the Institute of Fiscal Studies. At today's IFS Budget briefing, Paul Johnson offered his verdict on Hammond's first Budget. While he raised concerns about the government's sluggish plan to balance the books (warning that it could be delayed past 2025), he welcomed the controversial NIC raise as 'baby steps in the right direction': 'A tax system which charges thousands of pounds more in tax for employees doing the same job as someone else needs reform. It distorts decisions, creates complexity and is unfair.

Tonight the government suffered its second Article 50 bill defeat in the House of Lords. Peers backed an amendment calling for a 'meaningful' parliamentary vote on the final terms of withdrawal from the EU by 366 votes to 268. Heralding the result, Lord Heseltine said Parliament must be the 'custodian of national sovereignty'. The bill will now return to the Commons where Theresa May will hope to overturn the amendment, along with the issue of guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens. The government had been braced for defeat on both of these issues but regardless this now presents them with a headache -- convincing pro-Remain MPs not to rebel.

It's not been a great week for Ukip. Following Paul Nuttall's by-election loss in Stoke-on-Trent Central, the Ukip leader went on holiday while his party went into free fall. As Nigel Farage mounted a coup against Douglas Carswell over reports that Ukip's only MP had scuppered Farage’s chances of being awarded a knighthood, Arron Banks labelled Nuttall's leadership 'weak' and told the Ukip leader to make him party chairman (or else). Today Nuttall finally resurfaced with an appearance on the Andrew Marr show. The Ukip leader attempted to draw a line in the sand over the negative publicity his by-election campaign had attracted. Asked about reports that he had lied about losing a close friend at Hillsborough, Nuttall went on the offensive.

Although Nicola Sturgeon has said a second independence referendum is 'highly likely', a recent poll suggests that the Scottish people are inclined to disagree. Earlier this year, a Panelbase survey found that support for a second independence referendum before the UK leaves the EU is at just 27 per cent. What's more, the majority of Scots -- including some who back independence -- are not in favour of a second referendum within the next year or two. This is why both the SNP and the Tories are currently at pains to blame the other side for any future referendum.

Although last week's by-elections exposed cracks in Labour, it's Ukip that has gone into free fall as a result. After Paul Nuttall failed to win in Stoke-on-Trent Central, both Nigel Farage and chief donor Arron Banks were quick to go on the attack. Over the weekend, Banks called for Nuttall to make him party chairman or else. Now both Farage and Banks are gunning for Douglas Carswell to be expelled from the party over reports that Ukip's only MP frustrated Farage's chances of being awarded a knighthood (it turns out that the anti-establishment politician is okay with some aspects of the establishment after all).

Tonight's Parliamentary Labour Party meeting began with loud cheers. As with most PLP meetings nowadays, these weren't directed at the Labour leader and nor was Jeremy Corbyn around to hear them. Corbyn had earlier sent his apologies that he was unable to make the first PLP meeting since the party's defeat in Copeland due to a prior engagement. In his absence, Gareth Snell -- the new Stoke-on-Trent Central MP -- was given a rousing reception, as was Andrew Gwynne -- the MP behind the by-election campaigns. When Gwynne attempted to take some of the blame for his party's loss in Copeland, he was shouted down by supportive colleagues who said that he had done everything he could.

With an ICM poll out today showing the Conservatives have an 18-point lead over Labour (one of the four worst results for Labour since the poll began in 1983), Theresa May clearly has a lot of political capital in the bank - and today she has been making the most of it. As the government’s Article 50 bill arrived in the Lords for its second reading, the Prime Minister, too, made her way to the Second Chamber to observe the start of the debate. Sat on the steps below the royal throne, May's presence acted as a reminder to the unelected house that ministers are taking the Lords' deliberations very seriously. While May has warned peers that she doesn't want to see 'anybody holding up what the British people want', she does not have too much to worry about.

As the government's Article 50 bill makes its way to the Lords this week, the ghosts of New Labour past are fighting to prevent a hard Brexit -- or any Brexit at all. Following Tony Blair's speech on Friday calling for the public to rise up and stop a 'Brexit at any cost', today it was Lord Mandelson's turn. The former 'prince of darkness' appeared on the Andrew Marr show to warn of the new risks of Brexit under Theresa May. Asked whether Brexit was really going to happen, Mandelson assured viewers that Parliament would respect the decision of the referendum -- before pointing out that only '36pc of the public voted to leave'.

It's less than two hours into Ukip's Spring Conference in Bolton and already the cracks are starting to show. Although Paul Nuttall promised to unite the party as leader, his predecessor Nigel Farage has set the cat among the pigeons with a speech on the future of Ukip. The former leader said he was concerned that 'too many people' in the party now wish to turn their back on the bold strategy of 'thinking the unthinkable' and 'saying the unsayable' that got them where they are today: 'This party succeeded because we had guts, we had passion, we were brave. But now I sense there are too many people in Ukip -- whose jobs and positions have come directly as a result of that bold strategy -- who are now urging Ukip to become mainstream. Now I will say this, it's nice to be popular.

It's Labour's lucky day. Although the party are currently fielding a foul-mouthed candidate with a questionable attitude towards women in the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election, Ukip's candidate Paul Nuttall has just taken the biscuit. The Ukip leader -- who has been touted as the favourite to win the seat -- has admitted in a radio interview that claims on his website that he lost 'close personal friends' in the Hillsborough disaster are false. This comes after an article in the Guardian looked to cast doubt on his claim he was there when 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death. Presenter: You say you lost a close personal friend...