Sketch: We knew it wasn't going to be cheery, but Rachel Reeves's Budget was all about blame

Rachel Reeves opened by announcing it was the first ever Budget delivered by a female Chancellor, which is a cause for celebration, but what she said was decidedly not.

This was not a Budget that led on change, but one that started with blame, Ms Reeves laying the groundwork for any criticism that could follow, spending an astonishing 15 minutes announcing not a single policy, but instead attacking the previous Government.

We heard the Tories’ austerity, Brexit deal and mini-budget had damaged the books, and how everything that followed was their fault, I promise. There may be some merit to this argument, but this was not about truth, but signalling. Making clear any reaction from the markets, any perceived failure to spend enough or reduce tax was because her hand had been forced. This was then reiterated by the announcement that the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast could not be compared to the last Tory budget, as Rishi Sunak’s Government had withheld information. Given OBR growth forecasts for the final years of this decade are *lower* than from the March Budget, this framing makes sense. It’s not me, it’s you.

This framing was a constant, the Chancellor announcing there would be no return to austerity, while setting a 2 per cent “productivity, efficiency and savings target for all departments to meet next year”. This is just cuts to Government departments, with more words.

If that wasn’t exciting enough, the Chancellor also unveiled £40 billion in tax rises, including £25 billion from a 1.2 per cent increase in employers' National Insurance. This is a targeted tax raid, but one that could easily see businesses pass on the costs to employers.

What then of growth, the Government’s flagship mission, albeit one also promised by that unemployed pundit for hire, Liz Truss? MPs heard growth could reach the lofty heights of 1.9 per cent by 2029, which didn’t so much enrage opposition parliamentarians as disappoint them. So that’s it.

Fuel duty was frozen at least, with yet another Government kicking the can down the road, much to the chagrin of the OBR, climate activists and economists.

As for jokes, there were few laughs, beyond a joke about air passenger duty being whacked up 50 per cent on private jets, with a mocking reference to Rishi Sunak possibly being off to California. The former Prime Minister didn’t flinch, too busy going through stats with Jeremy Hunt, still fighting a battle that’s over. She also thanked her predecessors for their "wise counsel", including Kwasi Kwarteng who she quoted as admitting his mini-Budget was "not perfect", prompting cheers and jeers in the House.

There was also space for satire, with the new Head of Office of Value for Money being announced, who is also on the board of HS2, was in charge of the failed Parliament restoration project, and oversaw the budget for London 2012, which cost £6 billion more than planned.

In summary, there were few surprises, or indeed any rabbits. This was a Budget we broadly knew, to the extent the Government was told off for it by the deputy Speaker before Ms Reeves started speaking. Maybe it’s a theme of Keir Starmer’s strategy. Get the bad news out of the way early.