David Gauke: How the Conservatives are morphing from a party of power to a party of protest

We have seen it in the context of Europe; we are seeing it in the context of Covid restrictions. We may more of it in tackling the public finances.

Anand Menon and Matt Bevington: Will Johnson really be able to level up?

Our research with low-income voters in some of these areas revealed that many are not expecting miracles. They simply want better local services.

Sunak opts to suck it and see

The OBR’s horrid forecasts of an output implosion and soaring unemployment will do nothing to quell Tory resistance to tougher Covid tiers.

Ryan Bourne: Calm down, stay cool – and drop this talk of tax rises. It’s too early to know how everything will settle down.

It’s baffling why think-tanks are taking the OBR assessments as truth, given its prediction record.

Liam Fox: Today, the Chancellor should aim to boost an unambiguously private sector-led recovery

Before pumping more funding into the public sector, we must restore the habit of making sure we have the money in the bank before we start spending it.

Richard Holden: This week’s spending review must show voters in Red Wall seats like mine that they were right to trust us

It’s vital that on education, policing and infrastructure, as much clarity is given as possible to departments as possible in terms of long-term funding.

David Gauke: Next week’s spending review – and why our holiday from spending restraint is coming to an end

Plus: Johnson’s sub-optimal Brexit trade deal choice. I’m not dreaming of a normal Christmas. And: green jobs – overall, a cost not a benefit.

Neil O’Brien: The plans we must make now to ensure that our ship doesn’t hit the rocks

These are my starters for ten – so it’s over to you. What are the biggest choices? What are the problems that we have to get ahead of to keep afloat?

Nick Hillman: Three options for higher education. Less support for students, fewer of them – or else they pay more

If if the higher education sector must take some further pain in the spending review, then the last option is the least bad.

Ryan Bourne: If you want to feed hungry children, don’t target food poverty. Aim to reduce poverty as a whole.

Together with tax cuts and less regulation, higher or more extensive benefits look like better support for hungry children than vouchers.

Emily Carver: Under this Government, the state is rolling forward. But to be Conservative, it must roll it back.

The last few months have shown the public that, if there’s political will, the deficit no longer matters – a dangerous precedent.

Alex Morton: How Sunak can save £30 billion a year

The first group of savings are about making the state more efficient, the second about creating a state focused on the core tasks of government.

King of the North?

Rob Stark meets a bloody end in Game of Thrones. But he won every battle he fought first – and the Greater Manchester Mayor is following his example.

Richard Holden: If Starmer stands – or kneels – for each passing fad, he won’t rebuild trust with working class voters

The volte-face that he is currently trying to manage in seeking to defend a Withdrawal Agreement that he opposed is farcical.

Sajid Javid: We need a strategy for putting the country back on a secure financial footing.

Consequently, our third and most important priority is the vigorous pursuit of growth – set our country on a path of solid and sustained expansion.