Chancellor Rachel Reeves has had her plans blown apart after concessions to the party’s welfare rebels left a £4.8 billion hole in her spending plans. The concessions, including the last-minute shelving of plans to restrict eligibility for personal independence payments (Pip), were enough to head off the Government’s first Commons defeat on Tuesday evening.
However, they also remove a key part of Sir Keir Starmer’s welfare reform agenda, delaying changes to Pip until after a review of the benefit, not due to conclude until autumn 2026. With no clear answer as to when the changes will be enacted or what they might entail, the Chancellor now faces a fiscal headache as a forecast £4.8 billion in welfare savings has dissolved to nothing. The Chancellor looked visibly upset in the Commons during Wednesday afternoon’s PMQs after Mr Starmer refused to confirm whether or not she would keep her job.
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch launched a savage attack at Ms Reeves, saying she “looks absolutely miserable”
Ms Badenoch asked the Prime Minister if he could guarantee the future of Chancellor Rachel Reeves, saying that MPs are going on the record, “saying the Chancellor is toast”. Badenoch added: “She is a human shield for his incompetence.” But Starmer evaded the question and referenced the £22 billion black hole that the Tories left in the economy.
The Tory leader replied: “How awful for the Chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she will stay in place.”
Even seasoned political commentators, like Jon Sopel, have weighed in on today’s scenes at PMQs, arguing that it shows just how hard the role of Chancellor can be. ” Don’t think I’ve ever – ever – watched a #PMQs like it,” he wrote on X. “Not for awkwardness for Starmer, but for Rachel Reeves’ face. Poor woman is crying or straining not to cry. She looks shattered. It’s a brutal business.”
