Rachel Reeves is "going nowhere" and will remain as Chancellor, Downing Street insisted, despite Sir Keir Starmer declining to give her a public show of support. The Chancellor was visibly tearful in the Commons as her position came under intense scrutiny following a welfare U-turn that created an almost £5 billion black hole in her plans.
Allies said she was dealing with a "personal matter" whilst Number 10 maintained she had Sir Keir's "full backing". Sir Keir Starmer (Labour), who stumbled on his way out of Downing Street for Prime Minister's Questions, faced questions over his handling of a welfare reform package which has been stripped of key elements to limit the scale of a Labour revolt.
Badenoch challenges Starmer's support
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Reeves looked "absolutely miserable" and challenged the Prime Minister to say whether she would keep her job until the next election. Starmer dodged the question about whether Reeves would be in place for the remainder of the Parliament, saying Badenoch "certainly won't".
Changes to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip) were abandoned on Tuesday just 90 minutes before MPs voted on them. This wiped out the savings that Reeves had counted on to help meet her goal of funding day-to-day spending through tax receipts rather than borrowing.
Chancellor left "humiliated"
Badenoch said: "Today the Prime Minister refused to back his Chancellor, leaving her humiliated. She is the human shield for his expensive U-turns. How can anyone be a chancellor for a man who doesn't know what he believes and who changes his mind every other minute?"
As the Chancellor left the Commons after Prime Minister's Questions, her sister Ellie Reeves took her hand in an apparent show of support. Asked about her tears, a spokesman for the Chancellor said: "It's a personal matter which, as you would expect, we are not going to get into. The Chancellor will be working out of Downing Street this afternoon."
Reports of Commons altercation
Reports suggested Reeves had been involved in an altercation with Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle shortly before Prime Minister's Questions. A spokeswoman for the Speaker said: "No comment."
Asked why Starmer did not confirm in the Commons that he still had faith in Reeves, the Prime Minister's press secretary told reporters: "He has done so repeatedly. The Chancellor is going nowhere. She has the Prime Minister's full backing. 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."
Downing Street defends position
Asked whether the Prime Minister still had confidence in Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall (Labour), the press secretary said: "Yes." Labour has promised that income tax, employee national insurance contributions and VAT will not be increased, restricting Reeves' options for raising money if she does look to hike taxes.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies' incoming director Helen Miller said: "Since departmental spending plans are now effectively locked in, and the Government has already had to row back on planned cuts to pensioner benefits and working-age benefits, tax rises would look increasingly likely. This will doubtless intensify the speculation over the summer about which taxes may rise and by how much."
Tax rises speculation grows
Starmer declined to rule out tax rises later this year, telling MPs: "No prime minister or chancellor ever stands at the despatch box and writes budgets in the future."
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
