What a week it has been, and it isn't even Friday! From the sudden return of Liz Truss to an awkward Reform press conference, and then the Budget, it has not been a quiet week down in Westminster.

At the start of the week, Liz Truss published her new book, 'Bank Job' only for it to be panned by critics and readers alike. Simon Heffer, Baron Blackwater, a Conservative peer in the House of Lords, described Truss' book as "deranged."

Launching a scathing attack on her in The Telegraph on Monday, he said: "Like an alcoholic that cannot admit they have a drinking problem, the former Prime Minister is convinced that everybody else is to blame for her failures."

Unsurprisingly, he also rated the book zero out of five stars. Ouch.

Liz Truss is the UK’s shortest serving Prime Minister. (Credit: UK Government)

Appearing on Sky News however, Truss insisted that it was not her fault that the 'mini-budget' went wrong, but the financial market's fault, the Bank of England's fault, the Treasury's fault and the civil service's fault.

Basically, everyone else's except her own.

The book ends with a chapter simply titled '2040,' in which Truss imagines an alternative futuristic reality in which she had remained Prime Minister. In this reality, the Equality, Human Rights and Climate Change Acts have been repealed, AI is unregulated, Cryptocurrency is the new norm and most interestingly, there are now Brits living on Mars.

I wonder if the famous iceberg lettuce lives on Mars, too.

Later on Monday came the announcement of Reform UK's 'Economic Recovery Plan' by Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick.

It had already been a shaky few days for Jenrick, as during a press conference about Jobs on Saturday, he asked the audience to stand up if they work. Barely anybody did.

As Jenrick and Farage took to the podium for the reveal of their shiny new plan, it quickly became apparent that members did not share their enthusiasm, as party faithful attendees were outnumbered in droves by empty chairs and unused campaign material.

Empty chairs outnumber people at Reform UK rally. (Credit: @BlewettSam on X)

Reform's nosedive in the opinion polls, now placing third behind a re-energised Conservative party and well behind Andy Burnham's Labour party.

The most important event of the week though was the Budget. Coming just over 100 days into the Burnham ministry, his chancellor, John Healey, took to his feet to announce the Government's financial plans for the year ahead.

Among the measures announced was a £100 payment to help with the cost of energy bills for those living in council tax bands A-D, the abolition of the gas standing charge, a continuation of the freeze in fuel duty and the removal of tariffs on over 100 essential food items, which includes pickles for some reason.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, delivers the Budget. (Credit: UK Parliament)

The Budget seems to have been absorbed relatively well, by voters and the financial markets alike, (sorry Liz!), which will surely further deepen speculation of an early general election. Of course, No. 10 has consistently denied that there will be, however with Labour polling at a two-year-high and Reform and the Greens in complete freefall, alongside Burnham potentially wishing to seek his own mandate, it certainly is not outside the realm of possibilities.

And Healey seemed to be feeling in the party spirit afterwards too, being photographed behind the bar of a Westminster pub, downing a pint of lager in less than 10 seconds.

Good on him I say.

Editor’s round-up: This week in Westminster