Keir Starmer to give major speech after Rachel Reeves seen crying

Daily Mirror

14 hours ago

Keir Starmer will give a speech this morning on his 10 year NHS plan - but is likely to face questions about Rachel Reeves after the Chancellor was seen crying in the Commons yesterday.
The Prime Minister last night said he and Ms Reeves are in "lockstep" and insisted she would be in post for "many years to come". He said her tears were "nothing to do with politics".
He has endured a torrid week after being forced to water down his controversial benefit shake-up following a backbench rebellion. Mr Starmer had hoped to slash £5billion from the welfare bill, but in an 11th-hour U-turn the Government tore up plans to limit access to personal independence payments (PIP).
In an interview with the BBC, he said: "I'm not going to pretend the last few days have been easy, they've been tough. I'm the sort of person that then wants to reflect on that, to ask myself what do we need to ensure we don't get into a situation like that again, and we will go through that process. But I also know what we will do and that's we will come through it stronger."
Keir Starmer said he had a long chat with Rachel Reeves last night and said she is "fine".
Asked by Chris Evans how the Chancellor is, he said: "She's fine. She's very resilient and strong is Rachel.
"She's driven through lots of change in the Labour Party. We had to change the Labour Party, we fought an election together and I've seen her resilience."
He went on: "She's a really powerful woman, and she's also very widely respected. And I think the sort of messages of concern that have come in over the last 24 hours or so show the great affection and respect in which she is held."
The PM has revealed he has built a gym in Downing Street with his son.
Asked about his daily routine, he said: "So my son is 17, and he and I have built a little gym in the flat because it's quite hard to get out to gyms for reasons that are obvious.
"So he's got a big punchbag because he does kickboxing. We've got weights and I've got a rowing machine. So I go in there, listen to the radio, and then my job is to buy tea for my wife, make tea for my daughter."
Keir Starmer has admitted his plan to keep Friday nights free "hasn't worked very well".
In an interview with Chris Evans on Virgin Radio, the Prime Minister looked back at his pre-election pledge to try to spend the evening with his family. It sparked an outcry at the time.
He said: "I can report back a year on in my attempt to keep the Friday night clear. Hasn't worked very well."
But he said there are advantages with working at No10. Mr Starmer said: "We live just upstairs. So you've got the office in Downing Street.
"And you go up two floors, we've got our flat, and it takes 22 seconds to get from my office to my flat. So if the kids are in, I can pop up there, even if it's only for 10 or 15 minutes."
He described his family as his "pride and joy" and wife Victoria as his "rock".
Health Secretary Wes Streeting says the 10-year health plan means people will "begin to see and feel those changes" to the NHS.
He said new neighbourhood health services were in place in some regions but the Government "will be rolling health centres starting off in areas with the highest levels of need, the communities that are also the most poorly served".
He said people will get increasing amounts of care in their home, adding: "This is the game changer for the 21st century."Mr Streeting told BBC Breakfast: "Often we've been sent from village to town, to city. So now we're going to design care around you.
"You're going to have much more personal, personalised care, more ease, more convenience, more choice and control."
Mr Starmer said he is "proud" of how his Government has tackled NHS waiting lists, but added that "if the health service is to survive, it's got to reform".
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the PM said the health service was "left in a terrible state" by the previous government.
He said: "But even if that had not been the case the nature of illness and the presentation of the public in terms of: we all live longer, but with more conditions - what the health service has to deal with is so different to what it was 70 years ago when the NHS was set up that we have to change.
"And I know that simply putting more money into the old system isn't going to produce what we need." He added: "We've been driving down those waiting lists.
"I'm really pleased about that. I'm proud of what we've done. But I know that if the health service is to survive, it's got to change, it's got to reform."
The last few days have been "tough" for the Government, Mr Starmer has admitted.
But he insisted his party would "come through it stronger". In an interview with the BBC, the PM said: "I'm not going to pretend the last few days have been easy, they've been tough.
"I'm the sort of person that then wants to reflect on that, to ask myself what do we need to ensure we don't get into a situation like that again, and we will go through that process.
"But I also know what we will do and that's we will come through it stronger."
Keir Starmer has said he and Rachel Reeves are in "lockstep" as he praised the "excellent job" she is doing as Chancellor after she was tearful during PMQs.
The Prime Minister said she will be Chancellor for "many years to come" after earlier swerving a question on her future in the Commons.
In his first words since Ms Reeves's tearful appearance this afternoon, Mr Starmer told the BBC: "She's done an excellent job as Chancellor and we have delivered inward investment to this country in record numbers.
"She and I work together, we think together. In the past there have been examples - I won't give any specifics - of chancellors and prime ministers who weren't in lockstep. We're in lockstep."
The PM said Ms Reeves's tears were to do with a personal matter, on which he would not elaborate. He said it had "nothing to do with politics" or this week's dramatic welfare U-turns.
Pressed on whether it was, Mr Starmer said: "That's absolutely wrong. Nothing to do with what's happened this week. It was a personal matter for her, I'm not going to intrude on her privacy by talking to you."
This afternoon, Ms Reeves wiped away tears during a tense PMQs, where Mr Starmer came under attack from Tory Kemi Badenoch over his disability cuts U-turn. The Prime Minister did not properly answer a question on his Chancellor's future during the clash as Ms Badenoch crowed "she looks absolutely miserable".
No10 moved swiftly to insist she was "going nowhere" and had the PM's full confidence for the rest of the Parliament after PMQs. And a spokesman for the Chancellor added: '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.'
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