Rachel Reeves just dug herself into another hole - and there's no way out of this one

Rachel Reeves has excavated one hole after another since the election, each one deeper than the last. Her attempt to show how tough she was by cutting the winter fuel payment only revealed her weakness as she was forced to U-turn. Her efforts to tackle the spiralling welfare bill plunged her deeper into the mire, showing Labour backbenchers they had the power to sink any policy they disliked.

Last year's Budget left her in the darkest ditch imaginable. By taxing jobs to the tune of £25billion she undermined the growth she claimed was her number one priority. Employer's passed the added costs onto consumers by hiking prices, and that drove up inflation. Which in turn pushed up borrowing costs.

In November, she embarked on another ill-advised mining trip claiming that having "put public finances and public services on a firm footing... we won't have to do a Budget like this ever again." Another embarrassing U-turn duly followed.

Now she's set to hike taxes by £30billion on November 26, possibly more. And out comes her trusty shovel again.

Reeves seems to have concluded the only way to raise that kind of money is by breaking the Labour manifesto and hiking income tax.

A 2p rise in every £1 could bring in as much as £20billion, but it will be deeply unpopular. Voters were promised no increase in income tax, national insurance (NI) or VAT if Labour won. With NI already hiked, this would mark a second broken pledge.

Labour MPs are panicking. Lucy Powell, the party's deputy leader, told BBC 5 Live it's crucial to honour the promises the party was elected on, with culture secretary Lisa Nandy quickly backing her.

Sir Keir Starmer may have won a landslide last time, but polls suggest Labour is heading for a wipeout at the next election. MPs know their jobs are on the line, and they're desperate for Reeves to find another tax to hike.

In her bizarre pre-Budget press conference last week, Reeves floated income tax hikes to test voter reaction. But that wasn't her only audience.

She was also sending frantic signals to the bond market, showing investors that she could make tough decisions on tax.

The UK has to roll over around £300billion of gilts this year and needs low interest rates to keep costs manageable. With debt interest alone costing us more than £100billion a year, any further spike would be disastrous.

By hinting at higher income tax, Reeves aimed to show bond investors she is serious about fiscal responsibility. But now she's trapped.

Her shovel is hitting a rock on one side, in the shape of the bond market, and a hard place on the other, which is the mass of Labour backbenchers.

There's no way out. Shovel misery onto voters and her own MPs will never forgive her. Throw dirt all over the bond market and she risks a Liz Truss-style fiscal crisis.

I know what Reeves would like to do, and that's dig a very deep hole and sit quietly until it all passes. Unfortunately for her, that's not an option.