Unlucky chancellor? Iran shock hits Reeves just as UK seemed to turn corner

Half or two-thirds of the £24bn ‘headroom’ Rachel Reeves built up against her fiscal rules is likely to be wiped out by weaker growth and higher borrowing costs if the crisis continues. Photograph: House of Commons/PA

Donald Trump’s war on Iran is “folly”; shadow chancellor Mel Stride should be “lined up for the sack”; and the Liberal Democrat Daisy Cooper’s plan for managing fuel shortages is “fundamentally economically illiterate”.

Rachel Reeves has always relished a political fight, but in recent days she has been swinging at her opponents with what looks very much like enjoyment.