It’s now the consensus that the decision to schedule the Budget a month later than necessary has caused economic damage. The Bank of England’s former chief economist Andy Haldane told the BBC on Sunday that the resulting “fiscal fandango” is “the single biggest reason why growth has flatlined”.

The Government blames anonymous “leaks”. However, this ignores the uncomfortable truth that Chancellor Rachel Reeves herself has been the chief source of both speculation and teasers about Wednesday’s speech.

Despite strict rules against pre-briefing the contents of a Budget, Reeves and her team have actively invited speculation about all sorts of fiscal measures.

At times, it has even appeared that their approach is a massive brainstorm and focus group exercise, leading voters and the mark

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