Hello, I'm Hugo Rifkin, and now we're going to be unpacking the politics of the day,

including whether we're about to get another omnis shambles budget, budget, or worse,

and the fragile future of democracy and whether arguing with your colleagues is a good thing or a bad thing.

And joining me are two people highly likely to end up in a brawl.

I'll do what I can to keep them apart. It is the Times columnist James Marriott. Hello, James. Good morning.

Thanks for being here. And Times Radio presenter, Ed Vasey. Hello, Ed. Hello, here you go. What, it's amazing having you here. It's like, it's like those Christmas episodes of Doctor Who and they have two doctors at once.

Oh, I feel really thrilled.

That's a good point, actually.

We've never been seen in the same room together.

We are not the same person.

Look, so look, no Libby today. The big question is why the team reached out to Ed to do the slot instead. I know, I couldn't understand it. Well, yes, my crush James Marriott. There we go. So, Ed, is James the only person who can get you into the building on a Tuesday? have I just made this terribly awkward? You have, actually, because there was a point when I got sort of... I had James in the studio and I admitted the crush, and then I got carried away and the expression on James' face. And I suddenly had to kind of course correct and think, you know, you are a psycho, vasie. James, this is... I just want to say this is your last time on the show for a while, because you're about to go on book leave, congratulations, hope that goes well. I'm just making that clear so people don't think that whatever is about to happen is so bad that you never come back. Yeah, I'm never returning. I mean, if I appeared awkward when Ed was confessing his crushing me, it was only superficial. I was obviously very flattered.

No, no, because I was trying to be polite about it. I was sort of getting carried away. I really don't mind that. But just to kind of course, I mean, I think the kind of Marriott farewell is also overdone. I mean, I came in today and said, I gather this is a big moment for you, James or something. and he said well I'm taking four weeks off to write a book I mean yeah okay it's not

that long holiday yeah I did that a couple of years

yeah I did that a couple of years big moment for you James or something. And he said, well, I'm taking four weeks off to write a book. I mean, big deal.

It's not like half its Christmas. Yeah, I did that a couple of years ago. It's actually a really good thing to do when you've got to get something just done. Yeah, I'm hoping so. Yeah. There's a lot to do, albeit costly. And speaking of which, let's move on and talk about the budget. Rachel Reeves last night

Pleaded with Labour MPs to get behind her

She told them I'll show the media

I'll show the Tories

I will not let them beat me, I'll be there on Wednesday, I'll be there next year, and I'll be back the year after that. Will she, James, or will she, is she about to just really, really annoy everyone? I think she's about to really, really annoy everyone. I mean, the mechanism by which

she goes, I'm sort of, I kind of could see her clinging on, because I think if she goes, Keir Starma goes, I'm a little more skeptical at Keir Starma will go. So I sort of could see the whole miserable, the whole miserable thing just trudging along in any year's time. Yeah. So she may be here, but maybe not in a defiant way and more in a kind of, you know, for the want of anything better option kind of way.

Sure.

But that doesn't make a great speed. years time. Yeah. So she may be here, but maybe not in a defiant way and more in a kind of,

...