Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that Rachel Reeves will be Chancellor for a “very long time to come” after she broke down in tears at PMQs. The Prime Minister said it was “absolutely wrong” to suggest the Chancellor’s visibly emotional appearance in the Commons related to the Government’s humiliating welfare U-turn, which has put an almost £5billion black hole in her plans.
He told the BBC’s podcast Political Thinking with Nick Robinson: “It’s got nothing to do with politics, 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 about that. It is a personal matter.”
Asked if Ms Reeves would remain in her post, Sir Keir added: “She will be Chancellor by the time this is broadcast, she will be Chancellor for a very long time to come, because this project that we’ve been working on to change the Labour Party, to win the election, change the country, that is a project which the Chancellor and I’ve been working on together.”
He added that Ms Reeves has done a “fantastic job”, saying: “She and I work together, we think together.
“In the past, there have been examples – I won’t give any specific – of chancellors and prime ministers who weren’t in lockstep. We’re in lockstep.”
During PMQs on Wednesday, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Ms Reeves looked “absolutely miserable” and challenged the Prime Minister to confirm whether she would keep her job until the next election.
Sir Keir dodged the question about whether Ms Reeves would be in place for the remainder of the Parliament, instead saying that Mrs Badenoch “certainly won’t”.
Downing Street then insisted Ms Reeves was “going nowhere” and would remain as Chancellor.
Meanwhile, when asked about her tears, a spokesman for the Chancellor said she was dealing with a “personal matter”.
Reports suggested Ms 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.”