Taxing the rich could solve many problems. Why is it so difficult? | Phillip Inman

Making billionaires pay their fair share into state coffers would allow Starmer's government to effect real change, but soaking the rich is a hard sell for voters

Rachel Reeves will this week lay out the full cost of Conservative party economic neglect. Initial findings, according to Labour briefings, put the cost of the repair job at about 20bn, though there is also a strong hint that the final bill, when it is announced on Monday, will be much higher.

The exercise is a chance for the chancellor to send a message to her own supporters to ease off on demands for extra spending. Reeves will say the Tories' reckless and inept handling has pushed the government's finances further into the red than was previously understood.