At Glastonbury, left-wing politics are shocking again
This idea was always disingenuous; when they gain authority, American conservatives almost inevitably use the force of the state to censor ideas they don't like. But it took hold because it contained a grain of truth.
Left-wing culture, especially online, could be censorious, leaving many who interacted with it afraid of saying the wrong thing and resentful of its smothering pieties. The right, by contrast, offered the license to spout off without inhibition. That is almost certainly part of what drew so many alienated men into Trump's orbit. In 2018, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West said that wearing a MAGA hat symbolised 'overcoming fear and doing what you felt, no matter what anyone said'. This year, his id fully liberated, he put out a track titled Heil Hitler.
Increasingly, however, it's the left that is rediscovering the cultural power of shock, largely because of horror over the massacres in the Gaza Strip and the minefield of taboos around discussing them. Consider the international uproar over the performance of the punk rap duo Bob Vylan at Britain's Glastonbury music festival this past weekend. The act's singer led a teeming crowd — some waving Palestinian flags — in chants of 'Death, death to the IDF,' the Israel Defence Forces. Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, criticised Bob Vylan for 'appalling hate speech,' and demanded answers from the BBC for why it aired the set. The police are reviewing footage of the show to see whether any criminal laws were broken. (Bob Vylan was set to tour the United States this year, but the State Department has revoked its members' visas.)
The band was not the only one at Glastonbury to cause a scandal. Even before the festival started, Starmer criticised it for featuring the Irish rap group Kneecap on the lineup. In April, Kneecap led crowds at Coachella in chants of 'Free, free Palestine' and displayed messages accusing Israel of genocide, prompting the sponsor of their US visas to drop them. Footage later emerged of one member of the band, Mo Chara, displaying a Hezbollah flag, leading to a terrorism charge. (He has said the flag was thrown onstage and he didn't know what it represented.) The police are also investigating Kneecap's appearance at Glastonbury for possible public order offences.
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Both these bands intended to be inflammatory, and they succeeded. 'What happened at Glastonbury over the weekend is part of a coordinated, ideological insurgency against the Jewish people,' Ayaan Hirsi Ali wrote in The Free Press. 'The level of depravity displayed at #Glastonbury2025 was astonishing, one that should prompt serious self-reflection and soul-searching among British society,' wrote Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League. It's hard to remember the last time musicians managed to cause such outrage.
I understand why supporters of Israel are frightened and disgusted by the spectacle at Glastonbury. Many see no reason other than antisemitism for growing progressive hostility to Zionism. They've witnessed Jews being attacked, demonised and ostracised in the name of justice for the Palestinians. They find it especially bitter to see violence against Israel cheered at a music festival less than two years after a music festival in Israel was attacked by Hamas.
But while antisemitism surely drives some animus toward Israel, it's not nearly enough to explain why so many idealistic young people have become so deeply invested in the cause of Palestine and so sickened by the pulverisation of Gaza. To understand why, you need to grasp what Israel's war in Gaza looks like to them.
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The Advertiser
21 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
She plays post-punk drums, and now she's taking punk-inspired knits to the world
For 10 years now, Kaylene Milner has worked with bands, artists, and other labels around Australia and the world to create playful, colourful jumpers and other knitted garments that amount to wearable art. Her brand, WAH-WAH, was born thanks to an idea she had "rumbling around in the back of [her] brain" to create knitted punk sweaters. "I just kind of love the idea of having that much care and attention put into a garment that pays tribute to punk music, the graphics, the posters that accompany it," Ms Milner from Helensburgh, north of Wollongong, said. "It had a really strong visual language. And yeah, it just kept evolving from there." The first partnership was with Sydney band the Hard-Ons, whose bassist, Ray Ahn, gave Ms Milner permission to adapt his artwork. While the partnerships have since expanded beyond punk music - other collaborators include First Nations clothing brand House of Darwin, Aboriginal artist Kaylene Whiskey, and British comedian and artist Noel Fielding - "honouring music, art, culture" remains at the heart of what WAH-WAH does. Recently, Ms Milner designed a jumper with the artwork Redback Graphix created for the 1982 Mary Callaghan film Greetings from Wollongong. The film gave its name to an exhibition now on at Wollongong Art Gallery, which Ms Milner also guest curated. While personal style was something she was interested in from a young age, Ms Milner didn't always dream of a career in fashion. After graduating from Smith's Hill High School in Wollongong she first studied psychology at university, then musicology. She could not see a long-term career in the latter, so she enrolled at TAFE NSW's Fashion Design Studio. Once she completed her course, Ms Milner undertook an internship with Diane von Furstenberg in New York. "It was great in the sense that it showed me what I didn't want to do ... I observed how fast the fashion world moves, and how unsustainable - and unsustainable also in terms of lifestyle," she said. "Like the designers were staying back till midnight, and it was a really eye-opening experience. There were great aspects to it, obviously, and it was really cool to see all the different facets of the industry and how much work goes into a big brand like that, but I came away thinking I never want to do that." She returned to Australia and started up her first label, producing high-end garments, but did not have the capital behind her to make it financially viable. However, the urge to create remained. The idea for WAH-WAH took root when Ms Milner read the book Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad, and saw a photo of J Mascis from the band Dinosaur Jr wearing a hand-knitted jumper decorated with the logo of punk band Deep Wound. Punk has been a part of Ms Milner's life since she was young, and she herself plays drums in post-punk band Loose Fit. The name WAH-WAH is also nod to music; there's the music pedal by the same name, the song by George Harrison, and the song by Australian rock band (and WAH-WAH collaborator) King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Ms Milner has collaborated with international bands too, including American indie rock icons Sonic Youth and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and her designs have reached audiences overseas with Noel Fielding wearing them while hosting The Great British Bake Off. This year delivered another highlight for WAH-WAH: showing as part of the We Wear Australian campaign at New York Fashion Week. Ms Milner was one of just 12 designers invited to take part. "That's the first time that I've been in a store with my garments and getting that direct feedback from customers [WAH-WAH is sold almost entirely online] and particularly customers who weren't familiar with the brand," she said. Environmental sustainability is a significant philosophy behind WAH-WAH, with most garments made of superfine merino wool and thought put into the environmental impacts of packaging. When Ms Milner first started producing clothing, she initially had only had access to yarn that was 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent nylon. While these garments were hard-wearing, the sustainable fashion writer Clare Press one day mentioned in conversation that the nylon component would stop the garments from being compostable and breaking down. "After that I was like, I really need to explore how to do it in the most sustainable way possible," Ms Milner said. When she had to find a new manufacturer, she thought it was time to focus on the fibres used. "I really like using merino wool because not only does it feel really beautiful to wear, it's breathable, it's a renewable fibre, naturally repels dirt and odour, and will eventually break down, unlike most garments which have some man-made synthetic fibres in them," Ms Milner said. Ms Milner has her eye on benefiting the community, too: profits or royalties from numerous WAH-WAH garments go towards various charitable causes (specialist homelessness service SAHSSI will benefit from the Greetings from Wollongong collaboration). Ms Milner mostly works from the Helensburgh home she shares with partner Max, son Levi, 3, and cavoodle puppy Bear. More collaborations are on the horizon, but they are in the early stages, so Ms Milner is reluctant to share too many details. Otherwise, she said, she was "trying really hard not to take on too much at the moment". "But I know that won't go to plan, so just creating space for opportunity to come up that I really want to explore." For 10 years now, Kaylene Milner has worked with bands, artists, and other labels around Australia and the world to create playful, colourful jumpers and other knitted garments that amount to wearable art. Her brand, WAH-WAH, was born thanks to an idea she had "rumbling around in the back of [her] brain" to create knitted punk sweaters. "I just kind of love the idea of having that much care and attention put into a garment that pays tribute to punk music, the graphics, the posters that accompany it," Ms Milner from Helensburgh, north of Wollongong, said. "It had a really strong visual language. And yeah, it just kept evolving from there." The first partnership was with Sydney band the Hard-Ons, whose bassist, Ray Ahn, gave Ms Milner permission to adapt his artwork. While the partnerships have since expanded beyond punk music - other collaborators include First Nations clothing brand House of Darwin, Aboriginal artist Kaylene Whiskey, and British comedian and artist Noel Fielding - "honouring music, art, culture" remains at the heart of what WAH-WAH does. Recently, Ms Milner designed a jumper with the artwork Redback Graphix created for the 1982 Mary Callaghan film Greetings from Wollongong. The film gave its name to an exhibition now on at Wollongong Art Gallery, which Ms Milner also guest curated. While personal style was something she was interested in from a young age, Ms Milner didn't always dream of a career in fashion. After graduating from Smith's Hill High School in Wollongong she first studied psychology at university, then musicology. She could not see a long-term career in the latter, so she enrolled at TAFE NSW's Fashion Design Studio. Once she completed her course, Ms Milner undertook an internship with Diane von Furstenberg in New York. "It was great in the sense that it showed me what I didn't want to do ... I observed how fast the fashion world moves, and how unsustainable - and unsustainable also in terms of lifestyle," she said. "Like the designers were staying back till midnight, and it was a really eye-opening experience. There were great aspects to it, obviously, and it was really cool to see all the different facets of the industry and how much work goes into a big brand like that, but I came away thinking I never want to do that." She returned to Australia and started up her first label, producing high-end garments, but did not have the capital behind her to make it financially viable. However, the urge to create remained. The idea for WAH-WAH took root when Ms Milner read the book Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad, and saw a photo of J Mascis from the band Dinosaur Jr wearing a hand-knitted jumper decorated with the logo of punk band Deep Wound. Punk has been a part of Ms Milner's life since she was young, and she herself plays drums in post-punk band Loose Fit. The name WAH-WAH is also nod to music; there's the music pedal by the same name, the song by George Harrison, and the song by Australian rock band (and WAH-WAH collaborator) King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Ms Milner has collaborated with international bands too, including American indie rock icons Sonic Youth and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and her designs have reached audiences overseas with Noel Fielding wearing them while hosting The Great British Bake Off. This year delivered another highlight for WAH-WAH: showing as part of the We Wear Australian campaign at New York Fashion Week. Ms Milner was one of just 12 designers invited to take part. "That's the first time that I've been in a store with my garments and getting that direct feedback from customers [WAH-WAH is sold almost entirely online] and particularly customers who weren't familiar with the brand," she said. Environmental sustainability is a significant philosophy behind WAH-WAH, with most garments made of superfine merino wool and thought put into the environmental impacts of packaging. When Ms Milner first started producing clothing, she initially had only had access to yarn that was 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent nylon. While these garments were hard-wearing, the sustainable fashion writer Clare Press one day mentioned in conversation that the nylon component would stop the garments from being compostable and breaking down. "After that I was like, I really need to explore how to do it in the most sustainable way possible," Ms Milner said. When she had to find a new manufacturer, she thought it was time to focus on the fibres used. "I really like using merino wool because not only does it feel really beautiful to wear, it's breathable, it's a renewable fibre, naturally repels dirt and odour, and will eventually break down, unlike most garments which have some man-made synthetic fibres in them," Ms Milner said. Ms Milner has her eye on benefiting the community, too: profits or royalties from numerous WAH-WAH garments go towards various charitable causes (specialist homelessness service SAHSSI will benefit from the Greetings from Wollongong collaboration). Ms Milner mostly works from the Helensburgh home she shares with partner Max, son Levi, 3, and cavoodle puppy Bear. More collaborations are on the horizon, but they are in the early stages, so Ms Milner is reluctant to share too many details. Otherwise, she said, she was "trying really hard not to take on too much at the moment". "But I know that won't go to plan, so just creating space for opportunity to come up that I really want to explore." For 10 years now, Kaylene Milner has worked with bands, artists, and other labels around Australia and the world to create playful, colourful jumpers and other knitted garments that amount to wearable art. Her brand, WAH-WAH, was born thanks to an idea she had "rumbling around in the back of [her] brain" to create knitted punk sweaters. "I just kind of love the idea of having that much care and attention put into a garment that pays tribute to punk music, the graphics, the posters that accompany it," Ms Milner from Helensburgh, north of Wollongong, said. "It had a really strong visual language. And yeah, it just kept evolving from there." The first partnership was with Sydney band the Hard-Ons, whose bassist, Ray Ahn, gave Ms Milner permission to adapt his artwork. While the partnerships have since expanded beyond punk music - other collaborators include First Nations clothing brand House of Darwin, Aboriginal artist Kaylene Whiskey, and British comedian and artist Noel Fielding - "honouring music, art, culture" remains at the heart of what WAH-WAH does. Recently, Ms Milner designed a jumper with the artwork Redback Graphix created for the 1982 Mary Callaghan film Greetings from Wollongong. The film gave its name to an exhibition now on at Wollongong Art Gallery, which Ms Milner also guest curated. While personal style was something she was interested in from a young age, Ms Milner didn't always dream of a career in fashion. After graduating from Smith's Hill High School in Wollongong she first studied psychology at university, then musicology. She could not see a long-term career in the latter, so she enrolled at TAFE NSW's Fashion Design Studio. Once she completed her course, Ms Milner undertook an internship with Diane von Furstenberg in New York. "It was great in the sense that it showed me what I didn't want to do ... I observed how fast the fashion world moves, and how unsustainable - and unsustainable also in terms of lifestyle," she said. "Like the designers were staying back till midnight, and it was a really eye-opening experience. There were great aspects to it, obviously, and it was really cool to see all the different facets of the industry and how much work goes into a big brand like that, but I came away thinking I never want to do that." She returned to Australia and started up her first label, producing high-end garments, but did not have the capital behind her to make it financially viable. However, the urge to create remained. The idea for WAH-WAH took root when Ms Milner read the book Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad, and saw a photo of J Mascis from the band Dinosaur Jr wearing a hand-knitted jumper decorated with the logo of punk band Deep Wound. Punk has been a part of Ms Milner's life since she was young, and she herself plays drums in post-punk band Loose Fit. The name WAH-WAH is also nod to music; there's the music pedal by the same name, the song by George Harrison, and the song by Australian rock band (and WAH-WAH collaborator) King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Ms Milner has collaborated with international bands too, including American indie rock icons Sonic Youth and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and her designs have reached audiences overseas with Noel Fielding wearing them while hosting The Great British Bake Off. This year delivered another highlight for WAH-WAH: showing as part of the We Wear Australian campaign at New York Fashion Week. Ms Milner was one of just 12 designers invited to take part. "That's the first time that I've been in a store with my garments and getting that direct feedback from customers [WAH-WAH is sold almost entirely online] and particularly customers who weren't familiar with the brand," she said. Environmental sustainability is a significant philosophy behind WAH-WAH, with most garments made of superfine merino wool and thought put into the environmental impacts of packaging. When Ms Milner first started producing clothing, she initially had only had access to yarn that was 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent nylon. While these garments were hard-wearing, the sustainable fashion writer Clare Press one day mentioned in conversation that the nylon component would stop the garments from being compostable and breaking down. "After that I was like, I really need to explore how to do it in the most sustainable way possible," Ms Milner said. When she had to find a new manufacturer, she thought it was time to focus on the fibres used. "I really like using merino wool because not only does it feel really beautiful to wear, it's breathable, it's a renewable fibre, naturally repels dirt and odour, and will eventually break down, unlike most garments which have some man-made synthetic fibres in them," Ms Milner said. Ms Milner has her eye on benefiting the community, too: profits or royalties from numerous WAH-WAH garments go towards various charitable causes (specialist homelessness service SAHSSI will benefit from the Greetings from Wollongong collaboration). Ms Milner mostly works from the Helensburgh home she shares with partner Max, son Levi, 3, and cavoodle puppy Bear. More collaborations are on the horizon, but they are in the early stages, so Ms Milner is reluctant to share too many details. Otherwise, she said, she was "trying really hard not to take on too much at the moment". "But I know that won't go to plan, so just creating space for opportunity to come up that I really want to explore." For 10 years now, Kaylene Milner has worked with bands, artists, and other labels around Australia and the world to create playful, colourful jumpers and other knitted garments that amount to wearable art. Her brand, WAH-WAH, was born thanks to an idea she had "rumbling around in the back of [her] brain" to create knitted punk sweaters. "I just kind of love the idea of having that much care and attention put into a garment that pays tribute to punk music, the graphics, the posters that accompany it," Ms Milner from Helensburgh, north of Wollongong, said. "It had a really strong visual language. And yeah, it just kept evolving from there." The first partnership was with Sydney band the Hard-Ons, whose bassist, Ray Ahn, gave Ms Milner permission to adapt his artwork. While the partnerships have since expanded beyond punk music - other collaborators include First Nations clothing brand House of Darwin, Aboriginal artist Kaylene Whiskey, and British comedian and artist Noel Fielding - "honouring music, art, culture" remains at the heart of what WAH-WAH does. Recently, Ms Milner designed a jumper with the artwork Redback Graphix created for the 1982 Mary Callaghan film Greetings from Wollongong. The film gave its name to an exhibition now on at Wollongong Art Gallery, which Ms Milner also guest curated. While personal style was something she was interested in from a young age, Ms Milner didn't always dream of a career in fashion. After graduating from Smith's Hill High School in Wollongong she first studied psychology at university, then musicology. She could not see a long-term career in the latter, so she enrolled at TAFE NSW's Fashion Design Studio. Once she completed her course, Ms Milner undertook an internship with Diane von Furstenberg in New York. "It was great in the sense that it showed me what I didn't want to do ... I observed how fast the fashion world moves, and how unsustainable - and unsustainable also in terms of lifestyle," she said. "Like the designers were staying back till midnight, and it was a really eye-opening experience. There were great aspects to it, obviously, and it was really cool to see all the different facets of the industry and how much work goes into a big brand like that, but I came away thinking I never want to do that." She returned to Australia and started up her first label, producing high-end garments, but did not have the capital behind her to make it financially viable. However, the urge to create remained. The idea for WAH-WAH took root when Ms Milner read the book Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad, and saw a photo of J Mascis from the band Dinosaur Jr wearing a hand-knitted jumper decorated with the logo of punk band Deep Wound. Punk has been a part of Ms Milner's life since she was young, and she herself plays drums in post-punk band Loose Fit. The name WAH-WAH is also nod to music; there's the music pedal by the same name, the song by George Harrison, and the song by Australian rock band (and WAH-WAH collaborator) King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Ms Milner has collaborated with international bands too, including American indie rock icons Sonic Youth and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and her designs have reached audiences overseas with Noel Fielding wearing them while hosting The Great British Bake Off. This year delivered another highlight for WAH-WAH: showing as part of the We Wear Australian campaign at New York Fashion Week. Ms Milner was one of just 12 designers invited to take part. "That's the first time that I've been in a store with my garments and getting that direct feedback from customers [WAH-WAH is sold almost entirely online] and particularly customers who weren't familiar with the brand," she said. Environmental sustainability is a significant philosophy behind WAH-WAH, with most garments made of superfine merino wool and thought put into the environmental impacts of packaging. When Ms Milner first started producing clothing, she initially had only had access to yarn that was 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent nylon. While these garments were hard-wearing, the sustainable fashion writer Clare Press one day mentioned in conversation that the nylon component would stop the garments from being compostable and breaking down. "After that I was like, I really need to explore how to do it in the most sustainable way possible," Ms Milner said. When she had to find a new manufacturer, she thought it was time to focus on the fibres used. "I really like using merino wool because not only does it feel really beautiful to wear, it's breathable, it's a renewable fibre, naturally repels dirt and odour, and will eventually break down, unlike most garments which have some man-made synthetic fibres in them," Ms Milner said. Ms Milner has her eye on benefiting the community, too: profits or royalties from numerous WAH-WAH garments go towards various charitable causes (specialist homelessness service SAHSSI will benefit from the Greetings from Wollongong collaboration). Ms Milner mostly works from the Helensburgh home she shares with partner Max, son Levi, 3, and cavoodle puppy Bear. More collaborations are on the horizon, but they are in the early stages, so Ms Milner is reluctant to share too many details. Otherwise, she said, she was "trying really hard not to take on too much at the moment". "But I know that won't go to plan, so just creating space for opportunity to come up that I really want to explore."
The Advertiser
23 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
UK's Reeves is getting on with 'tough' job after upset
British finance minister Rachel Reeves has declared she is determined to get on with her job despite its tough moments, a day after she appeared in tears in parliament, sparking fears about her future in the job and triggering a market sell-off. Smiling and looking relaxed, Reeves appeared alongside Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday and spoke briefly at an event to launch the government's plans for the state-run health service, before addressing Wednesday's events in a media clip. "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," Reeves said, adding being finance minister was "tough" but she was "totally" up for the job. "People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday, and today is a new day, and I'm just cracking on with the job... This is the job that I've always wanted to do." Starmer gave his full support to Reeves after she was visibly upset during a prime ministerial question session in parliament. Reeves' tearful appearance came after a bruising week for the government when it was forced to abandon key planks of planned welfare reform, which blew a hole in her budget plans and threatened to undermine her fiscal rules. British borrowing costs rose and the pound fell as the weekly question-and-answer session unfolded on TV, with market analysts saying the moves reflected concern that Reeves could be replaced and the government thrown into further turmoil. In her appearance on Thursday, Reeves restated that the government had fixed the foundations of the economy and credited Starmer with their election win one year ago, and told reporters she was "proud of what I've delivered". Starmer said it was "fantastic" that Reeves was at the event and that he had "every faith in my chancellor", saying she had made important decisions and would be in the job for many years to come. "We are working in lockstep and we will continue to do so for a very long time," he said. "That is a good thing for the government, it is a good thing for the country." Starmer - who initially had not explicitly backed Reeves when asked about her future during the parliamentary exchange - said he did not realise Reeves had been crying, as Prime Minister's Questions is "pretty wild". Reeves also played down Starmer's initial reaction, saying: "I think people can see that Keir and me are a team." British finance minister Rachel Reeves has declared she is determined to get on with her job despite its tough moments, a day after she appeared in tears in parliament, sparking fears about her future in the job and triggering a market sell-off. Smiling and looking relaxed, Reeves appeared alongside Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday and spoke briefly at an event to launch the government's plans for the state-run health service, before addressing Wednesday's events in a media clip. "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," Reeves said, adding being finance minister was "tough" but she was "totally" up for the job. "People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday, and today is a new day, and I'm just cracking on with the job... This is the job that I've always wanted to do." Starmer gave his full support to Reeves after she was visibly upset during a prime ministerial question session in parliament. Reeves' tearful appearance came after a bruising week for the government when it was forced to abandon key planks of planned welfare reform, which blew a hole in her budget plans and threatened to undermine her fiscal rules. British borrowing costs rose and the pound fell as the weekly question-and-answer session unfolded on TV, with market analysts saying the moves reflected concern that Reeves could be replaced and the government thrown into further turmoil. In her appearance on Thursday, Reeves restated that the government had fixed the foundations of the economy and credited Starmer with their election win one year ago, and told reporters she was "proud of what I've delivered". Starmer said it was "fantastic" that Reeves was at the event and that he had "every faith in my chancellor", saying she had made important decisions and would be in the job for many years to come. "We are working in lockstep and we will continue to do so for a very long time," he said. "That is a good thing for the government, it is a good thing for the country." Starmer - who initially had not explicitly backed Reeves when asked about her future during the parliamentary exchange - said he did not realise Reeves had been crying, as Prime Minister's Questions is "pretty wild". Reeves also played down Starmer's initial reaction, saying: "I think people can see that Keir and me are a team." British finance minister Rachel Reeves has declared she is determined to get on with her job despite its tough moments, a day after she appeared in tears in parliament, sparking fears about her future in the job and triggering a market sell-off. Smiling and looking relaxed, Reeves appeared alongside Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday and spoke briefly at an event to launch the government's plans for the state-run health service, before addressing Wednesday's events in a media clip. "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," Reeves said, adding being finance minister was "tough" but she was "totally" up for the job. "People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday, and today is a new day, and I'm just cracking on with the job... This is the job that I've always wanted to do." Starmer gave his full support to Reeves after she was visibly upset during a prime ministerial question session in parliament. Reeves' tearful appearance came after a bruising week for the government when it was forced to abandon key planks of planned welfare reform, which blew a hole in her budget plans and threatened to undermine her fiscal rules. British borrowing costs rose and the pound fell as the weekly question-and-answer session unfolded on TV, with market analysts saying the moves reflected concern that Reeves could be replaced and the government thrown into further turmoil. In her appearance on Thursday, Reeves restated that the government had fixed the foundations of the economy and credited Starmer with their election win one year ago, and told reporters she was "proud of what I've delivered". Starmer said it was "fantastic" that Reeves was at the event and that he had "every faith in my chancellor", saying she had made important decisions and would be in the job for many years to come. "We are working in lockstep and we will continue to do so for a very long time," he said. "That is a good thing for the government, it is a good thing for the country." Starmer - who initially had not explicitly backed Reeves when asked about her future during the parliamentary exchange - said he did not realise Reeves had been crying, as Prime Minister's Questions is "pretty wild". Reeves also played down Starmer's initial reaction, saying: "I think people can see that Keir and me are a team." British finance minister Rachel Reeves has declared she is determined to get on with her job despite its tough moments, a day after she appeared in tears in parliament, sparking fears about her future in the job and triggering a market sell-off. Smiling and looking relaxed, Reeves appeared alongside Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday and spoke briefly at an event to launch the government's plans for the state-run health service, before addressing Wednesday's events in a media clip. "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," Reeves said, adding being finance minister was "tough" but she was "totally" up for the job. "People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday, and today is a new day, and I'm just cracking on with the job... This is the job that I've always wanted to do." Starmer gave his full support to Reeves after she was visibly upset during a prime ministerial question session in parliament. Reeves' tearful appearance came after a bruising week for the government when it was forced to abandon key planks of planned welfare reform, which blew a hole in her budget plans and threatened to undermine her fiscal rules. British borrowing costs rose and the pound fell as the weekly question-and-answer session unfolded on TV, with market analysts saying the moves reflected concern that Reeves could be replaced and the government thrown into further turmoil. In her appearance on Thursday, Reeves restated that the government had fixed the foundations of the economy and credited Starmer with their election win one year ago, and told reporters she was "proud of what I've delivered". Starmer said it was "fantastic" that Reeves was at the event and that he had "every faith in my chancellor", saying she had made important decisions and would be in the job for many years to come. "We are working in lockstep and we will continue to do so for a very long time," he said. "That is a good thing for the government, it is a good thing for the country." Starmer - who initially had not explicitly backed Reeves when asked about her future during the parliamentary exchange - said he did not realise Reeves had been crying, as Prime Minister's Questions is "pretty wild". Reeves also played down Starmer's initial reaction, saying: "I think people can see that Keir and me are a team."
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
‘Peak Trump': Big, Beautiful Bill shows president still has ‘drive' and ‘ambition'
Professor of American Politics Tim Lynch says the Big, Beautiful Bill is 'peak' Donald Trump. 'I just wonder whether this Big, Beautiful Bill might be peak Trump,' Mr Lynch told Sky News host Caleb Bond. 'This is the moment when he's at his maximum influence and power. 'Only seven months in, there's still energy, there's drive, there's ambition.'
