EMBATTLED Chancellor Rachel Reeves was seen crying in the Commons as the Prime Minister avoided confirming she would keep her job.
Reeves has been the focus of much of the ire of Labour backbenchers who were sent into a fury yesterday as Westminster descended into chaos over welfare cuts.
In an exchange between Starmer and Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister's Questions, he refused to confirm the Chancellor would remain in post. A visibly upset Reeves sat behind him.
Tears could be seen running down her face both at that moment and later in the same PMQs session.
Referring to the Chancellor, Badenoch said: “She looks absolutely miserable.”
The Tory leader added: “Labour MPs are going on the record saying the Chancellor is toast and the reality is that she is a human shield for [the Prime Minister’s] incompetence.
“In January, he said that she would be in post till the next election; will she really?”
Starmer replied: “[Badenoch] certainly won’t."
Listing Labour's achievements since last year's election, the Prime Minister failed to address directly whether Reeves would remain in post.
It forced Downing Street to say that the Chancellor still enjoyed the confidence of the Prime Minister.
Speaking after PMQs, Starmer's press secretary said: "The Chancellor is going nowhere. She has the Prime Minister’s full backing."
Asked why he had failed to give her his backing when asked by Badenoch, the spokesperson said: "He has said it plenty of times, he doesn’t need to repeat it every time the Leader of the Opposition speculates about Labour politicians."
A statement put out by the Treasury later blamed a "personal matter" and gave no further information other than to say that the Chancellor would be working in Downing Street on Wednesday.
Reeves is a lightning rod for criticism within the Labour Party, with MPs blaming her fiscal rules for hamstringing the government.
Starmer (above) failed to stave off a rebellion the previous evening with 49 backbenchers voting against the Government's flagship welfare bill – despite concessions effectively gutting it of its most controversial measures.
Reeves's tears sent the bond market into chaos, with investors selling off government bonds, which caused yields – linked with the cost of borrowing – to rise above 4.6%.
Reports have suggested Reeves's tears may have been triggered by an altercation with Speaker Lindsay Hoyle immediately before PMQs.
He was said to have pulled her up for rolling her eyes and sighing when he demanded she give shorter answers at Treasury questions on Tuesday.
The Speaker's office declined to comment when approached by The National.
