Rachel Reeves has spoken out following her tearful appearance at PMQs. The Chancellor said “clearly I was upset” but added that it was her job to be in the Commons “supporting the Government and that’s what I tried to do”.
She declined to give the personal reason behind her tears but said it was not due to a row with the Commons Speaker or another Cabinet member. Ms Reeves also insisted she is “totally” up for the job of Chancellor and proud of her record.
Ms Reeves said: “Clearly I was upset yesterday and everyone could see that. It was a personal issue and I’m not going to go into the details of that.
“My job as Chancellor at 12 o’clock on a Wednesday is to be at PMQs next to the Prime Minister, supporting the Government and that’s what I tried to do.
“I guess the thing that maybe is a bit different between my job and many of your viewers’ is that when I’m having a tough day it’s on the telly and most people don’t have to deal with that.”
Asked if she could reassure people that she was up for the job, she said: “I totally am. This is the job that I’ve always wanted to do.
“I’m proud of what I’ve delivered as Chancellor. Look, I think all of your viewers have had tough days… I happen to be on camera when I have a tough day.”
On whether she was surprised that the Prime Minister had not offered her more full-throated backing in the chamber, she said: “I think that people can see that Keir and me are a team.
“We fought the election together, we changed the Labour Party together so that we could be in the position to return to power and over the past year we’ve worked in lockstep together whether that is on the budget, on the spending review or indeed on our measures to improve public services like the 10-year plan for the NHS.”
Ms Reeves appeared to reject suggestions that her breakdown was related to a conversation with Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle or another member of Government.
It comes after Ms Reeves appeared in public alongside Sir Keir Starmer earlier today.
The pair were both at the launch of the Government’s 10-year plan for the NHS in London.
Ms Reeves was seen smiling and laughing with Sir Keir and Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
Setting out the Government’s decision to pump cash into the NHS she said: “We fixed the foundations and we’ve put our economy back on a strong footing.”
Taking questions after the press conference, Sir Keir reiterated that Ms Reeves’s tears were down to a “personal issue” and said she will be making decisions “for many years to come”.
The Prime Minister said: “I’m trying not to stand here and speak for the Chancellor, but as she’s made clear on a number of occasions, yesterday was a personal issue, and I’m certainly not going to say anything more about that.
“I think it’s just fantastic she’s here and, as I say, none of this would be happening if she hadn’t taken the decisions that she’s taken.
“So she took those decisions, and she would take them for many years to come.”
He added that he did not “appreciate” that Rachel Reeves was crying behind him because of the swift nature of the Commons debate.
Asked why he did not react to the Chancellor’s tears, Sir Keir said: “I didn’t appreciate what was happening because, as you will probably appreciate, PMQs is pretty wired. It goes from question to question and I am literally up, down, question, looking at who is asking me a question, thinking about my response and getting up and answering it.
“It wasn’t just yesterday. No prime minister ever has had side conversations in PMQs. It does happen in other debates when there is a bit more time, but in PMQs it is bang, bang, bang, bang. That is what it was yesterday and therefore I was probably the last to appreciate anything else going on in the chamber.
“That is just a straightforward human explanation.”