Rachel Reeves doing excellent job, PM tells BBC after Commons tears

Sir Keir Starmer has backed Rachel Reeves to remain chancellor "into the next election and for many years after" after she was seen crying during Prime Minister's Questions.

The prime minister had refused to say whether Reeves would remain in her job until the next election in front of MPs in the Commons, during a session in which the chancellor wiped away tears as she sat behind him.

But later Sir Keir told BBC Radio 4's Political Thinking he worked "in lockstep" with Reeves and she was "doing an excellent job as chancellor".

After PMQs, Reeves' spokesperson said she had been dealing with a "personal matter" and Sir Keir insisted her tears had had "nothing to do with politics".

Asked if Reeves would remain in government, Sir Keir said: "She's done an excellent job as chancellor and we have delivered inward investment to this country in record numbers.

"She and I work together, we think together.

"In the past there have been examples - I won't give any specifics - of chancellors and prime ministers who weren't in lockstep. We're in lockstep."

He said Reeves' tears had had "nothing to do with politics" or this week's welfare U-turns - which potentially blows a hole in her Budget plans.

"That's absolutely wrong," said Sir Keir. "Nothing to do with what's happened this week. It was a personal matter for her, I'm not going to intrude on her privacy by talking to you."

The extraordinary Commons scenes appeared to unsettle the financial markets, with the pound falling against major currencies and the cost of government borrowing rising.

Sterling dropped by 1% against the dollar, while borrowing costs saw one of the biggest single-day moves since former Prime Minister Liz Truss's mini-budget in October 2022.

That rise eased slightly after No 10 dampened rumours that Reeves might be replaced, though it later increased again.

The prime minister was completely unaware Reeves was crying beside him, and was said to be puzzled when an aide raised her visible upset with him after the Commons session.

The chancellor's sister, the MP Ellie Reeves, accompanied the chancellor and held her hand as she left the chamber.

Reeves' tears were noticed by Conservative MPs sitting opposite - one member of the frontbench described it as "horrible to watch".

Many colleagues and allies of Reeves in Parliament are blaming an altercation with the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle for upsetting her.

Several have accused him of having been abrupt with the chancellor in a meeting before PMQs.

It is thought to have been about an interaction they had during Treasury questions on Tuesday in which Sir Lindsay asked her to give shorter answers.

The chancellor's team have declined to comment, as has the Speaker's office.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Thursday, shadow chancellor Mel Stride said he "felt for" Reeves, and the incident showed politicians "are all human beings".

But he accused the government of making "serious mistakes" and "bungling and chaos", which he predicted would lead to tax rises in the autumn.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting later told the programme that "tough" Reeves would "bounce back", adding: "Rachel Reeves is here to stay as our chancellor."

Asked about Reeves later on Wednesday, Badenoch's spokesperson said a "personal matter doesn't really clear it up" as "you normally tell people what the personal matter is".

During the highly charged PMQs on Wednesday, she had criticised the government over its welfare U-turns.

She said the chancellor would now be forced to put up taxes "to pay for his incompetence" and asked if she would still be chancellor at the next election.

The chancellor looked "absolutely miserable", Badenoch added.

And she told the PM: "Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence."

Sir Keir said: "No prime minister or chancellor ever stands at the dispatch box and writes budgets in the future."

He ignored Badenoch's questions and instead insisted the welfare reform bill would get more people back into work and blamed Tory "stagnation" for creating the problems it was trying to fix.

Separately, Starmer told the BBC he "did not engage" properly with his MPs over his flagship welfare reforms and that he took responsibility for the political fall-out.

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