It would be politically painful, but so are other options if Rachel Reeves is to improve UK’s broken public services

It seems unlikely Rachel Reeves had “cut back public spending plans” on her list of new year resolutions – but by the end of a rocky week, it was clear she has the red pen ready, if bond markets fail to settle down.

At one level, this makes perfect logical sense: the chancellor has promised not to raise taxes in the near future, after a whopping £40bn increase announced in October; and her fiscal rules are, as her chief secretary, Darren Jones, told MPs, “non-negotiable”.