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Hello and welcome to Coffee House Shots.

I'm Lucy Dunn and today I'm joined by Isabel Hardman and James Heel.

PMQ's has been and gone and with just a week to go until the budget, economy was a central theme.

Isabel, what did you make of Starmer's performance to do?

Well, according to Kemi Badernock, the budget has been and gone as well because she managed to fluff her first line.

In her first question, she pointed out that this was the first ever government to float an income tax rise and then to you turn on it. And she meant to say before the budget has taken place, but she said

after the budget has taken place, which gave Kea Stama a sort of easier start.

I kind of felt like both of them actually had sort of just come in from the cold weather.

And you know when you're quite cold and you can't really talk properly?

Well, I mean, this is my problem anyway.

You end up sort of tripping over your words because Stama's delivery was rubbish today as well.

And he didn't

crucially rule out freezing income tax thresholds in the budget which is next week, to clarify.

But neither he nor bad not were good this week. Yeah, James. I suppose the Tories have been

going on to Labour about this sort of freezing of tax threshold, talking about tax hikes to essentially

protect benefits, U-turns that Labour have made over the last year. How is effective do you think these attack lines are? Are they landing? Well, I always think it's slightly difficult a week before the budget because the Prime Minister could often try and stonewall at least two of the six questions by going. It'll be announced next week. And that's next week. You can get it then. And of course, you know, by fluffing the first question or two, it then sort of sucks the air out of Kevin Batonock.

And whereas last... going, you know, it's going to be an announcement next week, and that's next week, you can get it then. And of course, you know, by fluffing the first question or two, it then sort of sucks the air out of

Kevin Battenock.

And whereas last week, for instance, it was, you know, I mean, there's a mess of a day for briefing. And she suddenly knocked it in the net three times for a hat trick. This week, I think it was that sense of a bit of pre-budget PMQs, which we sometimes get normally on the day that it's a dead rubber and we got that sort of a week in advance.

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