I'm Ed Vasey and we're going to be unpacking the politics of the day from Rachel

Reeves's tax U-turn to our globe trotting PM and super Cheetos.

That's soup with frothy milk on top.

You couldn't make it up.

But there's nothing frothy about today's guests. It's the

City AM Opinion and Features Editor Alice Denby. Welcome to the show, Alice. Hello, thank you for

having me. And the former Times diplomatic editor, Michael Binion, welcome to the show, Michael.

Thank you, Ed. Very good to see you both. Last week, Michael, we talked about you being T.E. Lawrence adjacent. Yes, well, I can. And I've just found out that the British Library has a great map exhibition, which includes T.E. Lawrence's maps of Arabia. Oh, how wonderful. Yes. Well, he did wander all over the place and his attempt to reach Akaba.

Yeah, you must go and...

You can do it. There's a trip you can make in his footsteps now.

I mean, they run special trips, but I don't think you have kind of set piece better in fights added in.

Anyway, let's talk about somebody who's less impressive than T.E. Lawrence.

The markets have not reacted well to reports that Rachel

Reeves has scrapped her plans to raise income tax in the budget. Britain's long-term borrowing costs

have risen this morning and the pound has dropped 0.38% against the dollar. It was only last

week that the Chancellor signalled that she was going to hike income tax in her budget. Now she's

decided she won't be doing that after all over fears of upsetting her backbench MPs and the public.

Now, Alice, I mean, you know what I'm going to ask.

I mean, it's like the grand old Duke of York.

Yeah, it's very much march them up to the top of the hill and march.

But I think this is actually, it must very much march them up to the top of the hill and march. But I think this

is actually, it must be some brilliant genius 4D chess move, because the only alternative is that

...