The chancellor desperately needs more money to finance growth and public spending so expect a bit of tweaking to supposedly strict constraints

• Labour needs £25bn a year in tax rises ‘to rebuild public services’

Change*. If Labour’s one-word campaign slogan had an asterisk, it would have directed voters to Rachel Reeves’s budget.

Later this month the chancellor will attempt to walk the line between repairing Britain’s battered public realm, while sticking to a manifesto promise to balance the books without raising taxes on working people.