Downing Street, both Nos 10 and 11, are hoping they can pull off a big coup this week; telling the public that things will be tough for a while, but convincing them that a better country is on the way; Higher taxes will be well spent, public services will recover, the economy will grow, and we will all have a stake in it.

There are conflicting views on how to achieve this. Some are determined that “it will be the Labor Budget the whole country has been waiting for, to escape the disastrous cycle of high taxes, low growth and weak public services”.

But even within the party there are doubts about whether they can achieve this; The fear is that No 11’s attempt to balance the books, even with changing rules, will prevent a bolder, more joyful message from being heard at a big moment.

Reeves and Keir Starmer like to say their number one priority is growing the economy, and one source says it will be “the Rachel Reeves budget, not the Labor Budget or the Treasury budget.”

One senior person fears that “the Treasury’s number one mission is to control public spending – not to create growth”, arguing that there is no difference between the Treasury under Jeremy Hunt and No 11 Treasury under Rachel Reeves.

“If this is a technocrat budget with more focus on balancing the books then it will be a disappointment,” says a Labor source.

Another joke is that the plans are “52% Labor, 48% Treasury”; for the party is on the side that manages to stick solely to its political instincts rather than No 11’s traditional drive to save money.

But what about the budget “rabbit out of the hat” tradition – a pleasant surprise at the end of the reveal?

Not this time. I’m told a group of Labor Party workers are eagerly holding a raffle for what it could be – but one source suggests they will be sorely disappointed by the bleak financial situation. “There won’t be any rabbits, it’ll be like Watership Down for the poor little bugger.”