Batten down the hatches for a tough winter ahead

The Prime Minister will have to make tough choices to find £40bn in savings (Image: Getty)At least he warned us. Filling up the coffers after Covid and support for energy bills and inflation is a tough task, which the country is just starting to find out.Everyone will pay more tax in the years to come, and while the PM and Chancellor agreed “those with the broadest shoulders should…bear the greatest burden”, many households will feel the pain.There’s sleight of hand, too. While there will be no hikes in income tax, VAT and NI, freezing income tax thresholds means millions will fall into higher tax bands.Businesses will be asked to pay more, and cuts will be made to the public sector as the fiscal hole – in the region of £40billion – is painstakingly filled.Hardly good news, but at the same time, this is responsible governance. At no point has Mr Sunak tried to mislead us with “fantasy economics”, to use his phrase.We have been presented with awful circumstances, demanding special measures. Let’s grit our teeth and get on with it.What a rollercoaster autumn it’s been for Suella Braverman. Promoted to Home Secretary under Liz Truss, she resigned, had a six-day break, then regained the post under Rishi Sunak.In the last two days alone, the vile bombing in Dover and overcrowding at Manston migrant centre have increased the pressure on her.For all that turmoil, Ms Braverman was rather impressive in Parliament yesterday. She defended herself well and most importantly laid down the law.A key cause of the dangerous situation is the high levels of illegal immigration, which Ms Braverman pledged to fix.It would help if we had less parliamentary point scoring and more of a cross-party consensus to stop dangerous, indefensible crossings that simply reward criminals. Braverman put in an impressive performance in the Commons yesterday (Image: PA)Only Fools and Horses is over 40 years old. But, like main character Del Boy Trotter, age has not withered it. In a poll, people voted Del Boy falling through a bar the funniest sitcom moment ever.David Jason’s wideboy was also named most loved comedy character of all time.Sheer nostalgia? Well, many of those polled were aged eight to 16, and 83 percent of children found old sitcoms hilarious.On one level, this tells us classic comedies are timeless; on another, it could show that modern sitcoms are somewhat lacking by comparison. Come on kids – get writing!