\nAnd the row over the last few days involving Donald Trump, the Labour Party and alleged election interference.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cCan I address that head on?\u201d he said, before pointing to the early work the government has done to try to kickstart the economy.<\/p>\n
It felt like I had touched a nerve.<\/p>\n
Privately there are Labour folk frustrated at what they see as a stuttery start to their time in power.<\/p>\n
They hope the next week can reset things – and shape the political landscape ahead.<\/p>\n
First, though, for the prime minister – and those like me reporting on him \u2013 a body clock-smashing, jet lag-inducing, totally exhausting 20,000-mile round trip to the tropical south Pacific.<\/p>\n
Little wonder Sir Keir is the first sitting British prime minister to visit a small Pacific island nation – we were on a plane for 28 hours to get here, and we have still got to get back.<\/p>\n
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting happens every other year and is a staple for prime ministers.<\/p>\n
Sir Keir told me it was an important event for the UK, with the King and Queen here too – and pointed to the collective economic might of the Commonwealth\u2019s members: a combined economic output of $20tn (\u00a315.4tn).<\/p>\n
This region, the Indo-Pacific, is also seen as increasingly economically important to the UK, post-Brexit.<\/p>\n
Before we know it, though, the long schlep home will begin \u2013 via Hawaii, California and Winnipeg – and Westminster\u2019s tilt towards the Budget will become total.<\/p>\n
The confirmation from the chancellor, long hinted at, that the government is re-writing its rules, its choices, on borrowing and debt isn\u2019t a surprise.<\/p>\n
Its formal announcement, after weeks and weeks of hints, is part of a strategy to avoid surprises that could spook the markets – remember that is exactly what happened two years ago and it finished off firstly the then-chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, and then the prime minister, Liz Truss.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/picture><\/span>Reuters<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n