Rachel Reeves was seen crying during Prime Minister’s Questions today, as Sir Keir Starmer was unable to confirm whether she would remain in her post during fiery exchanges in the House of Commons chamber. The Chancellor’s tears are the talk of Westminster, with rumours swirling that an altercation with the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle was responsible for her being visibly emotional this lunchtime.
According to the BBC, Ms Reeves’s allies have accused Sir Lindsay of being curt with her during a meeting prior to PMQs. The meeting is believed to have been about Treasury questions yesterday, during which Sir Lindsay appeared to cut the Chancellor off. The claims have yet to be confirmed by either the Speaker’s office or the Chancellor’s team.
Ms Reeves’ obvious distress was latched upon by Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, who described the Chancellor as looking “absolutely miserable”. Mrs Badenoch told the House: “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.”
Addressing the rumours about Sir Lindsay’s involvement in the Chancellor’s emotional state, a spokeswoman for the Speaker said: “No comment.”
Asked why Sir Keir did not confirm in the Commons that he still had faith in Ms 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.”