Austerity, not Brexit, has doomed the Tory party | Aditya Chakrabortty

Our economy is sick - and with next week's budget, May and Hammond look sure to make it sicker

The obituary for this government was published within days of its birth. Theresa May was a "dead woman walking", proclaimed former cabinet colleague George Osborne. Thus was a sniggering bully transformed into an acerbic prophet. Who now dares argue with that verdict? Two senior ministers out within a week, two more barely clinging on to their jobs, and an administration that makes no progress, but merely lurches from disaster to catastrophe.

And so begins the Great Unravelling of the oldest political party in Europe, arguably the world. It leads the BBC bulletins. For the commentariat, it is their meat and drink and their tiramisu.

Austerity is now the thudding drumbeat behind every ministerial misstep

Related: Theresa May's position is unsustainable, yet she still can't see it | Matthew d'Ancona