Britain's working people "know exactly who they are", Keir Starmer said as he promised to "protect their payslips" in tomorrow's Budget.

But "with the big day looming, it still isn't clear" what the term "working people" actually means, said the BBC. Even government ministers have struggled to clarify the definition of a concept that touches on politically charged notions of identity.

What did the commentators say?
The phrase has been "bandied around a lot" during the run-up to the Budget. And Labour mentioned it "21 times in their manifesto", said Sky News, so "you'd think they would have a pretty concrete idea" of what it means.

But the party's definition is a "work in progress", said The Guardian. Somewhere among their "slightly salad-like cascade of words" there are "two interlocking definitions". The first is "economic and relatively precise": basically "someone whose income is reliant on a regular wage", as opposed to someone who can "rely on money from unearned wealth", such as shares or rental income. The other definition is "political and notably more woolly". It acts as an "all-encompassing synonym for the sort of diligent, taxpaying, family-raising voters" at whom almost all political parties "mentally pitch their ideas".

Britain "once had an obsession with social class", said Patrick O'Flynn in The Telegraph, but in Starmer's worldview you can be a "senior Whitehall mandarin" with a "gold-plated pension and a generous salary" and still be considered one of the working people he has pledged to protect. If you are a buy-to-let landlord "running around" half a dozen rental properties "fixing dents in front doors and leaky taps, then forget it".

For Tories, said Sam Leith in The Spectator, "non-working" people mostly means "skivers, spongers, quangocrats and undeserving welfare recipients", but if you're "Trad Labour", it's "members of the rent-seeking capitalist boss class". If you're Starmer, it's "a bit of both" depending on "who you are hoping to appeal to".

What next?
There should be some clarity tomorrow as Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveils the details of her Budget. Depending on "who the government class as working people", it could "open the door for potential hikes" to capital gains tax, national insurance for employers, and "even potentially inheritance tax", said Sky News. But "we will not really know" until Reeves opens that red box.

The Commonwealth Games will return in 2026 with a vastly stripped-back programme, including the axing of sports such as hockey, badminton and cricket. The Australian state of Victoria was originally lined up to host the event but pulled out last year, saying it was proving to be "all cost and no benefit". Glasgow agreed to step in and host the competition, but in a cut-price form that has seen 12 sports dropped from the line-up.

The Commonwealth Games is "on borrowed time", said The Telegraph's chief sports reporter Jeremy Wilson. "Cutting sports adrift" has been necessary to save money, but it is hard not to "fear that this latest cut will prove terminal".

'Ever less relevant'
This next competition is "so cut back, so stripped down, so thinned out" that the "only surprise is that it's not sponsored by Ozempic", said Jim White in The Independent. It is clear this event is "on its last legs", becoming "ever more expensive and ever less relevant".

The Games is fighting against a souring reputation in the modern era as it approaches its centenary in 2030. "Even the world's best PR agency" would find it difficult to rebrand an event that began as the "Empire Games" to show off sporting talent from Britain's colonies, wrote The Guardian's Sean Ingle last year. Given this "chequered history", said Jacques van der Westhuyzen in South Africa's The Citizen, one must ask "what is even the point of having this event?"

'Different legacy'
Yes, it will be a reduced programme, said David Mark on the Australian ABC, but the remaining athletes will have the "opportunity to strut their stuff on the world stage" and it will still be an "absolute blast".

Glasgow 2026 can create a "different legacy", said Gayle McPherson, director of the research centre for culture, sport and events at the University of the West of Scotland, on The Conversation, "one that is built on inclusion, diversity and sustainability and which incorporates the culture, values and pride of the Commonwealth". The new model "could serve as a blueprint for a sustainable approach", laying the path for "smaller nations to host future games".

With summer tourists gone and Christmas-market crowds yet to come, autumn is the perfect time to let Bruges "enchant" you, said Lindsay Cohn in Travel + Leisure. The Belgian city "exudes a storybook atmosphere", with medieval architecture, cobbled squares and scenic canals, earning its title of "the most photogenic city in Europe".

Spend the trip marvelling at the historic city centre's gothic architecture, wandering through museums of iconic Flemish art, and sipping hot chocolate.

Groeningemuseum, the "treasure house of Bruges' art", is "small but exquisite", said The Telegraph. It is home to "some of the greatest north European work" and a "fascinating" collection of 19th-century Belgian Symbolism.

Next, climb Old Belfry Tower, a 13th-century symbol of Bruges' powerful past. The 366-step climb is tough, but worth it for the "sweeping vistas" of the city centre and "well-deserved sense of accomplishment". Bruges' picturesque waterways are also a "must". The city is steeped in golden age history and a boat tour offers unbeatable angles to admire the architecture.

For accommodation, the gothic Guesthouse Nuit Blanche is the "living embodiment of a Van Eyck painting", said Good Housekeeping. The "atmospheric" interior has seen the likes of Winston Churchill and Belgian royalty.

And for intimate and "exceptional" dining, check out Bistro Bruut, said The Telegraph. Or Bistro Christophe is larger, "popular with locals" and has a "swagger" and "robust, good-quality French-Belgian cuisine".

Finish off with a visit to the Old Chocolate House. Don't be daunted by the long queues; "Belgium's finest hot chocolate" is well worth it.

Putin just won another victory – yet the West still has its head in the sand
Samuel Ramani in The Telegraph
As "one of the fault-line post-Soviet states caught between the West and Russia", Georgia "is on a fast-track" to "subjugation by Moscow", writes Samuel Ramani. The "Putin-friendly" Georgian Dream party "triumphed" in Saturday's election amid "credible allegations of voter fraud". The West has "once again looked like a helpless bystander". If it doesn't take a "unified stance" against these "human rights abuses", Georgia risks becoming "an authoritarian client state of Russia".

Are Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick true conservatives?
Melanie Phillips in The Times
It's "disappointing" that the Tory party leadership contest has "degenerated" into a "personal spat between the two contenders", writes Melanie Phillips. "The public is sick of such infighting." Although Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch have "important and attractive virtues", doubts persist about "whether either of them has what it takes to rescue" their party and country – the "ability to connect to the general public because they speak from their gut in the public's own language".

Republican racist rally is the latest proof of a campaign-torn country in meltdown
Darren Lewis in The Mirror
"To spend a few days in the US right now is to gain a snapshot of the sky-high temperature of a country in meltdown," writes Darren Lewis. The rhetoric at Sunday's Republican rally in Madison Square Garden was at times "so reprehensible it had to be seen on social media to be believed". The world is "at a scary juncture", but "however bad things might seem", they "will get a whole lot worse" if Donald Trump takes office.