Steerpike

We are now just three weeks away from Labour's first Budget and the mood music out of the Treasury is all rather ominous. On 30 October we find out the answer to the great question of British politics: can Rachel Reeves square her spending plans with her past promises on tax? With Labour desperate to keep investors onside ahead of their big jamboree tomorrow, it was up to Jonathan Reynolds to hold the line on Sky this morning. Unfortunately for the Business Secretary, it seems he made the cardinal sin of 'committing news.' Asked whether the government would increase National Insurance for employers, Reynolds refused to rule it out. Labour promised in its manifesto that it would not raise taxes on working people, but Reynolds has said the pledge only applied to employees.

Oh dear. Keir Starmer today marks his first 100 days in 10 Downing Street, but he has little cause for celebration amid tanking poll ratings and reports of staff unease over his grip on the government. When Starmer first entered 10 Downing Street, there were predictions across the commentariat that his arrival would herald a more stable period and mean the adults were back in the room. So, how do the pundits see it now? The papers are stocked with long reads and analysis on how Starmer is doing. In short, he's not doing great. Mr S has rounded up the highlights – or perhaps more accurately the lowlights – below: The New Yorker: 'Keir Starmer’s Bafflingly Bad Start as the U.K.’s Prime Minister'The good news: Starmer is being noticed across the pond.

Back to Labourland, where there's more trouble afoot. It emerged today that some rather careless comments made by a Cabinet Minister have cost the government an, er, one billion-pound investment deal. Ouch. Transport Secretary Louise Haigh delivered some stinging remarks this week about P&O Ferries, after it emerged that the company had let go hundreds of agency staff it hired in a cost-cutting bid following mass lay-offs two years ago. But Haigh's ill-advised commentary has sparked tensions between the government and DP World, of which P&O Ferries is a subsidiary – with the organisation now planning to boycott an investment summit next week.

Uh oh. To the Grauniad, where trouble is afoot. It transpires that the paper’s review of One Day in October, a harrowing Channel 4 documentary about the tragedy of the 7 October terror attack on Israel by Hamas, has caused quite a stir. So much so that it has, in fact, been deleted and wiped entirely from the Guardian’s website. The review had ruffled feathers after suggesting that the documentary had portrayed Gazans as ‘testosterone-crazed Hamas killers’: If you want to understand why Hamas murdered civilians, though, One Day in October won't help. Indeed, it does a good job of demonising Gazans, first as testosterone-crazed Hamas killers, later as shameless civilian looters, asset-stripping the kibbutz while bodies lay in the street and the terrified living hid.

While Sir Keir Starmer and outgoing Tory leader Rishi Sunak went tête-à-tête in today's Prime Minister's Questions, Mr S is rather more intrigued by the Prime Minister's response to a question from the Lib Dems. Sir Ed Davey quizzed Starmer today on the British overseas territories – asking the PM whether he could 'ensure that British citizens, fishing off the Falklands, can sail proudly under the Union Jack'. Fast on his feet, Sir Keir told the Commons solemnly: 'My uncle nearly lost his life when his ship was torpedoed defending the Falklands.' Going on he insisted: 'They are British and they will remain British.' Strong stuff. https://youtu.

To Holyrood, where Scotland's politicians have overwhelmingly voted to oppose the Labour government's winter fuel payment cuts. 99 MSPs voted in favour of the motion tabled by SNP First Minister John Swinney, which called on the UK government to 'reverse the introduction of means testing for the winter fuel payment' – and in a sign of cracks emerging in the party, it transpires that Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has faced a mini-rebellion over the matter. Oh dear. Of Scottish Labour's 22 MSPs, only 16 voted on today's motion. Earlier today, rumours began to circulate that several of Sarwar's MSPs were expected to break the whip and back the SNP – and it has now come to light that two did.