On becoming prime minister in October, Rishi Sunak set himself two essential tasks. The first was to fix the immediate economic turmoil unleashed by his predecessor, Liz Truss. His second was to restore order to a government in meltdown and reassure the public that a capable pair of hands was back behind the wheel.
While even his critics would concede he has made progress on the first, the events of the past week have served as a reminder that even the most competent drivers are capable of occasional carelessness.
Having spent days meticulously planning his first big set piece on levelling up, Sunak headed into this weekend buffeted by allegations of unfairness over the allocation of a £2 billion Whitehall funding pot. The fallout will
