Pat McFadden has emerged as the favourite to replace Rachel Reeves if Sir Keir Starmer bows to pressure to sack his Chancellor.
Mr McFadden, a veteran politician who served as a minister in the Governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is seen as a safe pair of hands.
Sir Keir insisted yesterday he still has “full confidence” in Ms Reeves despite economic turmoil which has seen the value of the pound plummet and the cost of government borrowing soar, stoking fears that the Government may be forced to impose massive spending cuts,
However he refused to rule out sacking her before the next election when twice asked directly about her future. A Downing Street spokesman later said Ms Reeves would keep her job.
Labour MPs have grown increasingly worried, with once stating that Ms Reeves is “out of her depth” and should never have been appointed.
Bookmakers have Wolverhampton MP Mr McFadden as the favourite to replace her. He is currently Sir Keir’s trusted lieutenant as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and has been put in charge of overseeing Labour’s five “missions” such as improving the NHS and cutting crime.
Second favourite is Darren Jones, currently Ms Rayner’s deputy as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Other potential replacements include Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
William Kedjanyi, Political Betting Analyst at Star Sports, said: “Rachel Reeves has found herself in some hot water of late due to market turbulence and the pound falling to a near 15-month low, and speculation on whether her job as Chancellor of the Exchequer is safe has begun, with Minister for Intergovernmental Relations Pat McFadden rumoured to be in line to replace Reeves.
“McFadden is the strong market leader at 2/1 to take on Reeves’ responsibilities as Chancellor should she be removed from her position, with Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones second in the running at 4/1.
“Jonathan Reynolds, the current Secretary of State for Business and Trade, rounds off the top three in the betting at 6/1.”