Rishi Sunak’s Tory popularity slips as he fights Boris Johnson’s urge to splurge

Chancellor said to be keeping wary eye on inflation amid pressure from PM and Tory colleagues to spend

With less than a fortnight to go before Rishi Sunak's budget, the message from the Treasury is, don't expect fireworks". There have been pyrotechnics aplenty offstage, however, as the chancellor tries to hold the line against big-spending colleagues - not least the prime minister himself.

After a spat with Kwasi Kwarteng burst into the open last weekend over backing for businesses hit by the energy crisis, with a Treasury source effectively accusing the business secretary of lying, Boris Johnson weighed in on Kwarteng's side from his Marbella bolthole.