No one likes giving or receiving bad news. So this week’s speech by the Prime Minister on the need for difficult decisions sets a sombre tone for Parliament’s return next week. The cause is clear. The Office for Budget Responsibility warned before the election about a £20 billion black hole in the nation’s finances. What they didn’t know, and the incoming Government didn’t know was that the financial picture is even bleaker. The Conservatives overspent by £5 billion in the first three months of the year leaving a further deficit of around £22 billion unless action was taken. That’s £22 billion on top of the £20 billion. Previous outgoing Finance Ministers like Reggie Maudling and Liam Byrne caused a stir with notes saying there’s no money left but the last Chancellor went further and ran up huge debts. Debts which he  then hid.

That is why the new Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a number of cost-cutting measures with the need for further action in October’s budget. There’s an old saying in politics which is when you’re in a hole stop digging and the finances we inherited are in a deep black hole. Only by addressing underlying problems can firm foundations for the future be built – plans which include building more homes, transforming public services and saving the NHS and restoring border security and cracking down on crime. So, Parliament cannot return to business as usual. What’s also new is that we have a Prime Minister who believes in telling it as it is even if it that’s uncomfortable. And he’s right.