At PMQs this week Kemi Badenoch rightly pronounced that Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are 'in office but not in power'.

It's a somewhat cliché line rolled out when it's finally clear the political leadership of the country has completely lost control of proceedings.

What remains astonishing, even to those of us who have spent our careers following British politics, is how quickly this line has been dusted off and brought back out as a descriptor of this government, which we must never forget is less than two years old and with a huge Commons majority.

However in order to understand how Sir Keir and Ms Reeves have already come to be 'in office but not in power', we must all recognise who is actually in control of the government.

Because a small number of hard left MPs, who would never succeed in climbing the greasy poll of Government, have managed to pull off the most spectacular coup and take control.

Who are the names? Angela Rayner, John McDonnell, Apsana Begum, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne and Imran Hussain.

Some of them might count as household names, having served either in Government or in senior roles in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet. But others would fail to pass a recognition test even in Westminster Lobby.

The reason they are now puppet masters of this government is simple: Rachel Reeves' chronic weakness to pass spending cuts in her first Budget.

The Chancellor has attempted two relatively menial cuts so far, one on Winter Fuel Payments and another modest reduction to Personal Independence Payments, and both times she was humiliatingly forced into major U-turns.

Now, ahead of her second Nightmare-before-Christmas Budget, they have smelt blood and are coming back for more.

When Rachel Reeves is forced to breach her manifesto pledges on tax rises - something that could well signal the end of both her and Sir Keir's time in government - these rebels will be the reason for that.

Firstly there's the cost of abolishing the two child benefit cap, something that will put further tax pressures on young working class professionals, many of whom feel they cannot afford to have children, in order to give more free cash to those who had children without the means to support them.

This will cost £3 billion, something the Labour leadership said in 2024 was unaffordable due to the economy and part of the "tough decisions" Sir Keir was willing to make.

Then there's the ongoing rows about cuts to Personal Independence Payments, or PIP.

When Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves originally tried to force through a modest £5 billion worth of savings to the enormous bill, the government abandoned their plans due to the threat of losing a Commons vote.

The cost of PIP benefits for working-age adults has doubled since 2020 to £22 billion, and is on course to surpass £30 billion by 2030.

Originally set up to help those with physical disabilities, the taxpayer is now allowing millions to live it large on absurd claims about ADHD and anxiety.

A fortnight ago the government's official review, led by Stephen Timms, said the government's policy on PIP will now generate no savings to the Budget.

When your taxes go up at the Budget, remember it is because of Rachel Reeves' political weakness to push through any spending cuts in the wake of her hard-left backbench cabal.