A budget that will define the next Half Decade under labour begins to take shape with more investment in big projects, more borrowing, and perhaps less of a Tax Rise than expected. And devastating israeli strikes on beirut actively targeting hezbollah s leadership, as Benjamin Netanyahu dashes back from the Un And Tehran holds emergency meetings. Where will this escalation take the region and the world . Good evening. This is newsnight, home to Insight And Analysis from home and abroad. Well discuss the emerging situation in the Middle East a little later, matters could develop as we are on air. Breaking news is that they hezbollah it senior leadership is unreachable following the israel strikes on the Beirut Southern Suburbs on thursday. We will discuss that later. But first a domestic Mid Conference political and economic stock take with our top panel. Anushka asthana, Itv News deputy political editor, author of taken as red, an Insider Account of Labours Ascent to power, zing tseng,
SpIrIt, a polItIcal correspondent for the tImes and Andrew FIsher who wrItes for the I. Thank you both for beIng wIth us. Tell me lara what do you thInk KeIr Starmer has do today . When you speak to people In labour about what they want to achIeve, they want KeIr Starmer to put a stamp on thIs conference and say what he belIeves In and what the government Is for, we have had ale dIffIcult couple of weeks for the government, we have had storIes about donor gate, freebIes and dIffIcult storIes about the salary of chIef of staff. Some are sayIng that Is because there a voId that starmer has left and Into that voId he needs to state what It Is he needs. So we need to see from hIm today there Is a real sense he needs to stamp hIs authorIty on thIs conference. Another thIn andrew was the sense we got from the government about tough decIsIon, the WInter Fuel Payment whIch was a contentIous decIsIon about that for mIllIons and we have heard from some sayIng you need to Inject more optImIsm whI