Sir Keir Starmer said he did not appreciate how upset Rachel Reeves was in the Commons, because he was focused on answering Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Prime Minister said all people could be caught “off guard” by their emotions, but the Chancellor had to deal with it while on camera in Parliament.
He said she was doing an excellent job, would remain in place beyond the next general election, and that they were both absolutely committed to the Chancellor’s “fiscal rules” to maintain discipline over the public finances.
UK Government bonds rallied and the pound steadied on Thursday, after reassurances from the Prime Minister about the Chancellor’s future.
The sight of her in tears on Wednesday, and the £5 billion black hole in her public spending plans as a result of the welfare U-turn, had spooked the markets, triggering a sharp sell-off of bonds, with the yield seeing the sharpest increase since US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans shook up financial markets in April.
Sir Keir told Virgin Radio he had spoken to the Chancellor on Wednesday evening and she was “fine”, and her tears were as a result of a “purely personal” matter rather than the “ups and downs of this week”.
Ms Reeves was visibly upset as she sat beside Sir Keir in the Commons on Wednesday, but he said: “I actually personally didn’t appreciate it was happening in the Chamber, because I came in, I’ve got questions being fired at me in PMQs, so I’m constantly up at the despatch box and down.
“I think we just need to be clear, it’s a personal matter, and I’m not going to breach Rachel’s privacy by going into what’s a personal matter for her.”
He said that “in politics, you’re on show the whole time, there’s no hiding place”.
Ms Reeves was a “great colleague, she’s a friend of mine and I’ll be working with her for a very long time to come”.
“But like all human beings, we’re also personal.
“There are moments that catch us off guard and if you’re in front of a camera for large periods of your life, unfortunately, that could be caught on camera in a way, if it had been anybody else at work, it would have not really been noticed.”
The sight of the Chancellor in tears on the front bench and Sir Keir’s initial lack of public support for her caused jitters about the Government’s borrowing plans, as Ms Reeves’ commitment to her rules to control spending are a key reassuring factor for the bond markets.
Sir Keir said: “She is an excellent Chancellor, she will be Chancellor for a very long time to come, into the next election and beyond it.
“She and I are absolutely committed to our fiscal rules and the economic stability that is so important to this country, and that is the rock on which we build everything else.
“On that issue, Rachel and I are in lockstep, and have been for years.”
