In case you missed it, there was a story in The Sunday Times over the weekend about a Labour donor who was given a pass to enter No 10 in the weeks after the election.

Lord Waheed Alli, a television executive who has donated more than £500,000 and helped Sir Keir Starmer's election campaign, got the pass despite not having an official government role.

'Not involved in policy'

Labour admitted he did indeed have one but party chair Ellie Reeves has said there are "no rules" preventing it, and she's "sure the proper processes were followed".

Pressed by Kay Burley this morning, she denied he was given the pass as reward for donating to Sir Keir.

Ms Reeves said: "Lord Ali is someone who's been a Labour peer for a very long time. He did a great deal of work supporting our general election campaign and had a pass for a very short period of time after we won. 

"He wasn't involved in policy."

She claimed it was "not unusual", but said he no longer had a pass.

Sticking with Labour Party chair Ellie Reeves, and she insisted cabinet ministers were united on the chancellor's move to start means testing winter fuel payments.

This year, about 1.5 million pensioners will be eligible for the winter fuel payment - down from 11.4 million when it was universal.

It's sparked concern that those just above the poverty line will really struggle with affording their bills later this year - and there have been reports that some ministers are opposed to the change.

'It's not something we wanted to do'

But Ms Reeves told Kay Burley the "tough decision" was "taken by the chancellor with the support of the cabinet".

"There aren't splits on this," she insisted.

"It's not something we wanted to do, but it's something that is the responsible thing to do because of that £22bn black hole."

That's a reference to the unfunded spending commitments the chancellor alleges were made by the previous Tory government, without telling anyone about them.

The gist of Sir Keir Starmer's speech this morning is expected to be things will get worse before they get better.

Kay Burley pointed out to Labour Party chair Ellie Reeves this morning that things are already pretty bad - what with NHS waiting lists, small boat crossings, and the sewage crisis - so how could things possibly get much worse right now?

The MP, who is the sister of Chancellor Rachel Reeves, said the new government would not be "papering over the cracks" - which she accused the last Tory administration of doing.

'Things don't change overnight'

"It's about fixing the foundations so that people's lives can and will be better under this government," she added.

Asked whether some of the country's problems, like NHS waiting lists, would actually get worse, she said they wouldn't.

She pointed to the commitment to end the junior doctor strikes and offer 40,000 more hospital appointments a week.

But "things don't change overnight", she said.

Again, she refused to say things would actually get worse.

The speech we're expecting from the prime minister this morning will paint quite a gloomy picture about the state of the economy.

It follows similar bleak commentary from his chancellor, Rachel Reeves, which most expect mean tax rises are coming in the October budget.

But does the government's narrative stack up?

Ruth Davidson and Beth Rigby are once again joined by the former Labour MP and ex-shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire on the latest episode of Electoral Dysfunction - and the messaging on the economy comes up as they answer listener questions.

👉Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts👈

For more information on dates and tickets for our tour, go to https://www.aegpresents.co.uk/event/electoral-dysfunction-live/

Email us at [email protected], post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

Sir Keir Starmer will vow this morning to "reverse a decade of decline" and "fix the foundations" of the UK economy.

Delivering a speechin the gardens of Downing Street ahead of parliament's return next week, the prime minister will acknowledge the state of the public finances as he continues to place the blame on the former Conservative government.

And he will insist his administration will not continue with "business as usual" now Labour are in power, instead saying there will be "no more politics of performance".

But Conservative Party chairman Richard Fuller said it would be "nothing but a performative speech to distract the public from the promises Starmer made that he never had any intention of keeping".

Since taking office almost eight weeks ago, the government has been reiterating its claim it has been left with a £22bn "black hole" in the Treasury by the Tories, with even reserve funds of £9bn having been spent "more than three times over".

For a full preview of the PM's speech, read more below from our political reporter Jennifer Scott:

Hello there, and welcome back to the Politics Hub.

Never mind Liam and Noel Gallagher's Oasis reunion, the prime minister has his own sights set on the headlines today as he prepares for parliament's return from recess next week.

Sir Keir Starmer will be making a statement in the Downing Street gardens that we understand will see him tell the public things will get worse before they get better under his Labour government.

The PM will acknowledge the state of the public finances but pledge to "do the hard work needed to root out 14 years of rot" as he continues to look back in anger and place the blame on the former Tory government.

We'll have live coverage of his speech from around 10am, and updates and analysis throughout the day.

Tax rises and spending cuts are expected in the autumn budget as the chancellor continues to claim the Labour government has been left a "dire inheritance" from the Tories.

But do Rachel Reeves's claims stack up?

Sky's Ed Conway assesses if she's correct to profess such gloom.

On the face of it, yesterday's public finance numbers provide a clear rationale for the course of action the chancellor has (according to those I talk to in Whitehall) already decided upon: more taxes and more spending cuts in this October's budget.

It will, I'm told, be pretty grim.

However, it's worth saying there is one other way for the chancellor to create extra headroom against her fiscal rules, which is to change the particular measure she's judging that headroom against.

A lot of economists believe the net debt statistic she inherited from the Conservatives is the wrong one to use in her fiscal rules - and that she should use the country's total national debt, not excluding any debt owned by the Bank of England.

Long story short, if she uses this other measure (and I'm told this is something she is considering) then she suddenly has a lot more headroom.

Even so, don't expect her to change the tune at the budget in October. There will be more bad news to come.

Read my full analysis here...

Ruth Davidson and Beth Rigby are once again joined by the former Labour MP and ex-shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire to answer listener questions. 

They explain the role of special advisers in politics and discuss whether the devolved nations still need their own secretaries of state in Westminster. 

They also give us a history lesson on PMQs and dissect political messaging around the economy.  

👉Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts👈

For more information on dates and tickets for our tour, go to https://www.aegpresents.co.uk/event/electoral-dysfunction-live/

Email us at [email protected], post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

The government's child poverty taskforce has got to work as ministers begin putting together a strategy to lift families out of destitution.

But despite pressure within Labour and from other parties, it won't be scrapping the controversial two-child benefit cap.

What is the policy?

The two-child benefit cap was announced by the Conservatives in 2015, forming part of their austerity measures.

It means while parents can claim child tax credit or Universal Credit payments for their first and second child, they couldn't make claims for any further children they had.

These are separate payments to child benefit, which has no limit on how many children can be claimed for.

The argument from the Tories limiting the tax credit to two children made the system fairer for taxpayers, ensuring households on benefits "face the same financial choices about having children as those supporting themselves solely through work".

But opposition MPs and campaigners said the measure would drag more children into poverty and hit hard up families.

What is Labour's stance on it?

Labour were strong critics of the policy while in opposition and many expected they would scrap it if they won power.

But last year, Sir Keir Starmer ruled it out due to the public finances.

The Resolution Foundation has said abolishing the two-child limit would cost the government somewhere between £2.5bn and £3.6bn, but the Save the Children charity estimated the move would take half a million children out of relative poverty.

Seven Labour MPs paid the price for trying to force the government to scrap the policy - they were suspended from the parliamentary party for voting against the King's Speech.

Ministers have hinted they don't particularly like the policy - but it's not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.