Give us our mojo back, Prime Minister! Mark Andrews on Keir Starmer's pre-Budget manoeuvres

I suppose I should explain a little context before we go any further. 'Mojo' is industry jargon for my 'mobile journalism' broadcast kit, which is essentially a tripod, a microphone and one or two other odds and ends for making videos. And nobody actually stole it, but rather security told me I could not take it with me to film the PM's speech, instructing me to leave it in reception.

It's just that 'the Prime Minister stole my mojo' seemed a pretty apt summary as Sir Keir Starmer took to the stage to lay the ground for tomorrow's Budget.

Seven months ago to the day, Sir Keir had launched Labour's local election campaign amid no little razzmatazz at a cheery press conference in Dudley. This time, Birmingham Repertory Theatre was the venue, but despite the presence of popular West Midlands historian Professor Carl Chin, entertainment was notably thin on the ground. The PM's speech was preceded by a gloomy video of tales about NHS waiting lists, violent crime, and housing shortages.

Richard Parker, the newly elected mayor for the West Midlands, had the task of providing the warm-up, blaming his Tory predecessor for promising 'shiny new trams', without identifying where the funding would come from. You didn't need to be Russell Grant to see which way this was going.