The Treasury was ready when Labour arrived in office. In the week after the election landslide, ministers and a cadre of advisers appointed to serve at 1 Horse Guards Road were gathered together by civil servants and shown a 25-minute PowerPoint presentation laying bare the mess in the public finances.
Those in attendance were left in no doubt: this was an exercise to scare the new recruits. A shock session to get Labour up to speed with its responsibilities, and to make sure Rachel Reeves prioritised fiscal prudence in her first budget.
