Controversial eco minister Ed Miliband has been named as one of the runners and riders to potentially replace Rachel Reeves after extraordinary scenes saw the Chancellor weep during PMQs on Wednesday. Ms Reeves’s uncomfortable and emotional display in Westminster was hard to watch and triggered some panic in the markets as the person who is meant to have her hand on the nation’s purse strings looked rattled.
Ms Reeves’s visibly tearful appearance in the Commons came amid speculation that her job was at risk after the welfare U-turn put an almost £5 billion hole in her spending plans. But the Prime Minister insisted her appearance had “nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with what’s happened this week” and was “a personal matter”.
However, speculation remains rife Ms Reeves could still be forced out of Number 11 after her tenure has been dogged by having to roll back on her controversial withdrawal of winter fuel payments for pensioners and her hated new tax on British farmers.
Scroll down for the odds of who could replace the Chancellor…
Pat McFadden – 11/8
According to William Hill, key Starmer ally Pat McFadden, who is the current Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is the favourite to replace Ms Reeves to take over control of the nation’s finances. Mr McFadden is often wheeled out for media interviews when the Government faces some of it’s trickiest problems, he has also worked under the Chancellor as her deupty during the General Election campaign.
Jonathan Reynolds – 10/3
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade was forced into decisive action earlier this year to save Britain’s last remaining blast furnace from being closed by its Chinese owners. He has served as Shadow Economic Secretary before when Labour was in opposition and has been involved in a series of new trade deals signed since Labour took power around a year ago.
Darren Jones – 10/3
Mr Jones is Ms Reeves’ second in command at present and so perhaps the closest to knowing the current state of the nation’s finances, except for the Chancellor. The route from Chief Secretary of the Treasury to Chancellor is also a well-trodden one, as it’s how Rishi Sunak took the job in 2020.
Wes Streeting – 7 to 1
The Health Secretary is known to be a close friend of Ms Reeves and his department has benefited from handsome funding pledges during the latest spending review.
Yvette Cooper – 14 to 1
As Home Secretary, it could be argued Ms Cooper has just as hard a job as the Chancellor in terms of crises to deal with, especially with the out-of-control Channel migrants crisis set to see record numbers crossing to the UK this year.
Ed Miliband – 25 to 1
The former leader of the Labour party is often relegated to the far end of the front benches away from the Prime Minister during PMQs, but his determination to push through his Net Zero agenda despite widespread criticism could make Mr Miliband a solid choice for Chancellor in terms of his thick skin.