A body language expert has shed light on Rachel Reeves’ emotional display during Prime Minister’s Questions – suggesting she was already “struggling” to contain her tears before Keir Starmer began to speak. The Chancellor was visibly tearful as her position came under close scrutiny in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon after Labour’s U-turn on welfare dealt an almost £5 billion blow to her fiscal plans. Sir Keir Starmer dodged questions about whether she would retain her position until the end of the Parliament but a spokesperson for Number 10 later said she was “going nowhere”.
“Reeves was clearly struggling with her emotions before PMQs started but the moment the tears seemed to become uncontrollable was as she was watching Starmer try to list all his party’s achievements and when he appeared unwilling or unable to answer questions about his chancellor remaining in her role,” body language expert Judi James told the Express. “Her body looked slewed to one side in a form of slump, with her shoulders hunched and her head low,” she said.
Ms James said the chancellor “appeared to try to smile” when accused of looking “miserable” by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, despite close-up footage showing “tears running down her face … and her eyes getting red”.
“She might have been worried about the actual act of being seen wiping them away with a hand or a hankie, but the jerky blinking and the small head tosses did little to get rid of them or draw attention away from them,” the expert added.
“Her chin was also seen to be crumpling, which is a sure sign of authentic tears, suggesting distress. It was probably her inability to know what to do at this moment that was the most concerning.
“She could have blown her nose and passed it off with the wave of a hand, suggesting hay fever, but her body language suggested she had no real idea how to either fight the tears or how to carry them off in such a public place.”
Starmer faced an onslaught of questions over his handling of Labour’s welfare reform package during PMQs after the Government was forced to scrap key elements of the plans after MPs staged the largest rebellion of the PM’s premiership.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Reeves looked “absolutely miserable” sitting behind Sir Keir and challenged him to confirm that she would still be in post by the end of the Parliament – a question that he dodged by replying that Badenoch herself “certaintly won’t”.
Badenoch also called on Starmer to reassure Brits worried that the welfare revolt will necessitate tax hikes in the autumn budget.
The Prime Minister responded: “She knows that no Prime Minister or Chancellor ever stands at the despatch box and writes budgets in the future.”