Politics latest: Rachel Reeves has Starmer's ‘full backing', No 10 says after chancellor cries in PMQs

Independent

a day ago

Downing Street has insisted Rachel Reeves has Sir Keir Starmer 's full backing after she was seen in tears during PMQs.
Ms Reeves wiped away tears as Kemi Badenoch told the Commons she looked 'absolutely miserable'. Labour minister Ellie Reeves then appeared to be holding her sister's hand as she left the chamber on Wednesday.
It has been claimed by ministerial sources that the tears were a result of an argument with Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle prior to PMQs for which they said he has since apologised. The Speaker's office has declined to comment.
But her tears came as the prime minister came under attack in a fiery PMQs over his failure to deliver £5bn of welfare cuts which were a crucial part of the spending review.
He had refused to guarantee Ms Reeves' future as chancellor when pressed by Ms Badenoch amid growing speculation over a reshuffle to regain his authority.
In the grilling at PMQs, Sir Keir insisted his benefits bill will be 'better for the economy' despite a £5bn hole now left in the government 's spending plans. And he refused to rule out tax rises.
No 10 says Starmer backs Reeves after Chancellor's tears in Commons
Rachel Reeves is 'going nowhere' and will remain as Chancellor, Downing Street said, despite Sir Keir Starmer declining to give her a public show of support.
The Chancellor was visibly tearful in the Commons, as her position came under intense scrutiny after the welfare U-turn which put an almost £5 billion black hole in her plans.
But allies said she was dealing with a 'personal matter' and No 10 said she had Sir Keir's 'full backing'.
Jabed Ahmed2 July 2025 13:54
Labour MP who led welfare revolt calls for wealth tax to meet £5bn cost of U-turn
The leader of the rebel Labour MPs who forced Sir Keir Starmer to abandon his welfare reforms has called for a wealth tax to meet the £5bn cost of the U turn.
On Tuesday, the prime minister suffered the biggest blow to his leadership since coming into power a year ago after he was forced to shelve a key plank of his controversial benefit cuts in order to get them through parliament.
While his welfare reform bill passed its second reading by 335 votes to 260 – a majority of 75 – the prime minister still suffered the largest rebellion of his premiership so far, with 42 Labour MPs voting to reject the legislation.
The Independent's political correspondents Millie Cooke and Archie Mitchell report:
Labour MP who led welfare revolt calls for 'wealth tax' to meet £5bn cost of U-turn
Rachael Maskell blamed the chancellor for the scale of rebellion, saying the Treasury had chosen to 'find savings on the backs of disabled people'
Tara Cobham2 July 2025 13:45
Tories demand to 'know what's going on' with Reeves after tears in Commons
The Tories have said 'we need to know what's going on' with Rachel Reeves after the Chancellor was seen visibly upset during Prime Minister's Questions, which a spokesman has since said related to a personal matter.
Kemi Badenoch's spokesman said 'personal matter doesn't really clear it up' and 'you normally tell people what the personal matter is'.
Asked whether politicians should disclose all personal matters in their lives regardless of what they are, he said: 'That's an absurd question.'
He added: 'I'm not going to speculate… I think we should find out what's going on.'
Tara Cobham2 July 2025 13:40
Welfare revolt will not be 'defining story of this government', Cabinet minister says
Welfare revolt will not 'be the defining story of this government', a Cabinet minister has said.
Pat McFadden compared Tuesday night's backbench revolt to one under Sir Tony Blair in the 1990s, and told Times Radio: 'I have been around for a long time, and I have to reflect that it's not the first time this has happened with Labour on welfare.
'When we first came into government in 1997 we had a very similar size of rebellion on a similar issue: we had 47 Labour MPs voting against a welfare reform measure, we had 100 abstentions.
'The headline was, Blair suffers in benefits revolt and that government went on not only to reform welfare more, but to reduce child poverty, to turn around the NHS and to do a lot of other good things. So I don't deny that this has been a difficult process over welfare reform, but it's not the first time it's happened, and it is not going to be the defining story of this government.'
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster also defended Sir Keir Starmer, telling the same station he is the person who has 'set the direction' for the Government.
Asked whether there are issues of policy or leadership, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said: 'Keir Starmer is the leader who took the Labour Party for only the fourth time in its history from opposition to a majority Labour government.'
Tara Cobham2 July 2025 13:30
Starmer will 'plough on' with 'busy agenda' following welfare vote, Downing St says
Downing Street said Sir Keir Starmer would 'plough on' with his 'very busy agenda' when asked if the Prime Minister was planning for a course correction following the welfare vote.
Asked whether Sir Keir would be changing anything about the way he operates after the fallout, a Number 10 spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister is fully focused on the job at hand.
'You've heard… the number of achievements this Government has secured in its first year in office. You can expect him to plough on with the very busy agenda.'
2 July 2025 13:28
Recap: The moment Starmer was challenged over Reeves' future as chancellor
Kemi Badenoch accused Keir Starmer of forgetting that 'his welfare bill was there to plug a black hole created by the chancellor'. She accused them of instead 'creating new ones'.
The Conservative leader went on to described Ms Reeves as looking 'absolutely miserable'.
The chancellor was visibly tearful as the exchanges unfolded.
Ms Badenoch continued: 'Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?'
Sir Keir replied: '[Mrs Badenoch] certainly won't. I have to say, I'm always cheered up when she asks me questions or responds to a statement because she always makes a complete mess of it and shows just how unserious and irrelevant they are. She talks about the black hole, they left a £22 billion black hole in our economy and we're clearing it up, and I'm really proud that in the first year of a Labour Government, we got free school meals, breakfast clubs, childcare, got £15 billion invested in transport in the North and the Midlands. We're cutting regulation, planning and infrastructure is pounding forward, building 1.5 million homes, the biggest investment in social and affordable housing, and of course the three trade deals.'
Mrs Badenoch replied: 'How awful for the Chancellor that he couldn't confirm that she would stay in place.'
Tara Cobham2 July 2025 13:18
With a £5bn hole to fill, the true battle on Keir Starmer's hands is only just beginning
Sir Keir Starmer forced the tattered remnants of his welfare reforms through the Commons on Tuesday night, staving off what would have been an embarrassing defeat.
The unedifying spectacle of a leader with a huge majority after just a year in Downing Street chopping and changing one of his flagship bills to buy off backbench rebels has badly damaged his authority.
The Independent's political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
The true battle on Keir Starmer's hands may only be beginning
Sir Keir Starmer's capitulation on welfare cuts has dented his authority and raised questions about his judgment
Tara Cobham2 July 2025 13:15
Reeves crying in Commons over 'personal matter', spokesperson for chancellor says
Rachel Reeves was crying in the Commons over a 'personal matter', a spokesperson for the chancellor has said.
Asked about Ms Reeves' tears, the spokesperson said: 'It's a personal matter, which, as you would expect, we are not going to get into.
'The chancellor will be working out of Downing Street this afternoon.'
Tara Cobham2 July 2025 13:11
Reeves 'is going nowhere' as chancellor and retains PM's 'full backing', Starmer's press secretary says
Rachel Reeves "is going nowhere'' as chancellor and retains the prime minister's "full backing'', Sir Keir Starmer's press secretary has said.
2 July 2025 13:09
Starmer fails to say whether he has 'changed his mind' over Pip reform plans
Sir Keir Starmer failed to say whether he has 'changed his mind' on the government's plans for reform of Personal Independence Payments (Pip) after a question from Liberal Democrat Sir Ed Davey.
Sir Ed said in Prime Minister's Questions: 'Yesterday, the Government was asking this House to vote for a law that would mean someone with a condition like Parkinson's or multiple sclerosis would qualify for a personal independence payment (Pip) today, but someone diagnosed with the same condition with very same symptoms in a few months time would not.
'We all know that the cost of welfare needs to come down, but that was not a fair way to do it. Until he lost control yesterday, the Prime Minister was arguing for that approach. Has he changed his mind on this or not?'
Responding, Sir Keir Starmer said: 'The Stephen Timms review will take place, a very important review to look into this issue.
'But what we did do last night was end mandatory reassessments for those with severe disabilities. I thought that he and his party cared about things like that. It's the right thing to do, and they voted against it.
'We rebalanced Universal Credit, long overdue. I think he believes that, but what did he do last night? He voted against it. We set out a pathway to reform, something he argues for every week, but what did he do when he had the chance? He voted against it.'