Rachel Reeves' budget is like a long car ride with no fruit in sight Alison Phillips

10 days left. Will this quote arrive after 15 weeks? The nation is in the back of Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Ford Mondeo: “Are we there yet?”

“No, not yet, another della fruit,” says Reeves.

“But when? What will it be like when we get there? Alright?

“Wait and see.”

But no one wanted to wait and see: not for the holidays, not for the tea, and certainly not for the country's finances. It is not clear why this budget was not approved sooner, as previous governments had achieved. Yes, there was all that “looking under the hood” they talked about, but would it take almost four months to see the engine go bad?

Meanwhile, the endless wait has given Reeves' critics the luxury of time to spot potential flaws in his potential plans. His cabinet colleagues Angela Rayner, Louise High and Shabana Mahmood, who have seen the roadmap over Reeves' shoulder, are concerned enough about the cuts to their departments to write to the prime minister last week.

Elsewhere, there will be increases in employers' National Insurance contributions, increases in inheritance tax, capital gains taxes on the sale of shares (but not second homes) and the end of tax relief of bell. Financial rules will be rewritten, fuel tax could rise by 7p and tax changes have been made to pension funds.

But there may be more surprises, which is why this budget is a highly anticipated event Sex and the city Continuity: We know how bad it is. The wait has driven stability, hence the pre-election promise. However, interestingly, the business world tends to be more positive about our new government than the rest of the country. He seems less concerned about Taylor Swift's antics and more inspired by what he sees as a genuine commitment to driving growth. Of course, what you really want to see is… a budget.

“Are we there yet?”

Does Dory help mothers?

Advocate for neglected childcare?: Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope. Photo: Parliament TV

Sir Christopher Chope will be remembered for preventing politics from becoming a criminal offence. Or perhaps for using the same tactic to stop legislation that would have protected girls from female genital mutilation. She says she is commenting on parliamentary processes rather than any specific issue related to women. Anyway, last week he put the spotlight on the Conservative leadership candidate, Kemi Patenock. Chope said he did not support Patenok because he worried “about his own children.”

Last month, a largely unnoticed survey found that a quarter of mothers were forced to leave work to deal with childcare. And a quarter said they had reduced their time involuntarily. Only 7% of fathers quit and 8% reduced their hours.

The cost, availability, and inflexibility of child care still disproportionately affect women and their careers. While I'm not saying these issues affect Patenok (or her thinking), I can't help but wonder if the soap opera is finally helping women by inadvertently shedding light on the double standards still ingrained in our country.

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Out with a bang

RSPCA Sheffield Animal Center is launching a campaign ahead of fireworks season. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA

As I write this, my beautiful black Labrador, Florence, is lying in the shower with the door closed. There is an old quilt that prevents the light rays from entering. He shivers continuously for an hour, reassuring words and constant hitting make no difference. Because it's fireworks season. Isn't it cracker season?

But not the beautiful fountains of night sparkles that I remember from my childhood. Now they are sonic thunderclaps and devastating explosions that dazzle adults. It is no surprise that they can cause terrible and sometimes long-lasting damage to very sensitive dogs and cats.

So MP Sarah Owen's campaign to ban loud crackers because of the stress they cause to animals and those living with PTSD seems like a perfectly good idea to me.

Alison Phillips is a former Glass Major

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