As a veteran of these things, the most important element of the pre-Budget tax stories today is that someone is setting this up as a battle between No10 and No11. Note also the cross-references to other battles over the Brexit deal and the return to post-Covid normality. (1/4)

So for all the discussion today about the impact of the specific tax measures, levels of public support for them, their roots in Labour’s manifesto, etc., that all misses the real story: why has someone decided to play this Boris v Rishi battle out in public, and why now? (2/4)

Make no mistake, the tax measures described are genuinely under consideration, and the dispute about them is real. But, like foundation hospitals in the TB-GB days, the facts of the dispute are not as interesting as the decision to turn it into a public battle of wills. (3/4)

And while I’m not going to guess the source of this briefing, I’d just note that the most predictable outcome of these stories was for Tory MPs returning from recess to urge Boris to over-rule Rishi and win this battle. So if that’s what the source wanted, it’s a job well done.