Worcestershire woman 'anxious' over government vote on welfare cuts
Ms Edwards is unable to work due to her conditions, as she faints multiple times a day, is in "immense pain constantly" and suffers from severe fatigue.Speaking at the House of Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer said it also rebalanced universal credit, which he says is "long overdue" and sets out a pathway to reform Pip.The original welfare reform bill, which would have affected Ms Edwards, included proposals to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip) and cut the health-related element of universal credit.The changes made by the passed bill will now not include Pip, which will see no changes until a review has been completed.However, under the plans, under-22s will also no longer qualify for the health element of universal credit.
'Incredibly stressful'
The government initially announced its plans for a shake-up of the benefits system in March.Discussing her life since March, Ms Edwards said it had been "incredibly stressful"."I've not known what I can do with my life," she said."It's like I've had to put my life on pause in like anxious little bubble because I couldn't plan for university."I couldn't even apply for university because I didn't know if I had the financial stability to be able to go. "I was basically sat in this little anxious void waiting for an answer."
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Wales Online
6 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Rachel Reeves talks about 'tough day' as she speaks about her tears in the Commons
Rachel Reeves talks about 'tough day' as she speaks about her tears in the Commons The Chancellor has addressed the issue which sparked a large amount of speculation on Wednesday, July 2 Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves take a selfie with staff during a visit (Image: Getty Images ) Chancellor Rachel Reeves has spoken for the first time since becoming visibly emotional during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. Footage of Reeves showed her wiping away her tears as she sat next to Keir Starmer on the Labour frontbench. The Prime Minister has said he was unaware of his colleague's distress as he answered questions from MPs in the weekly session in the Commons. Although he failed to make a commitment about the Chancellor's future PMQs, he has since said she is doing a great job. In a BBC interview today, Reeves spoke personally about what happened on Wednesday for the first time. She said: 'Clearly I was upset yesterday and everyone could see that.' For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here She explained that attending the PMQ's is part of her role even on difficult days and she wanted to carry out her duties as expected. British Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers a speech unveiling Labour's plans to "rewire" the NHS in front of staff during a visit to the Sir Ludwig Guttman Health & Wellbeing Centre (Image: Getty Images ) She told the BBC: '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. Article continues below 'I think that people can see that Keir and me are a team.' Reeves pointed to their shared record in reshaping Labour over the last few years and said they had worked closely on key policy areas, noting: 'We fought the election together, we changed the Labour Party together… and over the last year, we've worked lockstep together.' Keir Starmer defended Reeves shortly after the incident in the Commons, calling it 'absolutely wrong' to link her tears to the party's recent U-turn on welfare reform. (Image: PA ) 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." You can read more about what the Prime Minister had to say about the welfare of the chancellor here. Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves share an embrace (Image: Getty Images ) Reeves also added while on camera speaking to the BBC: 'I think all your viewers have had tough days, for personal reasons, for whatever reasons. 'I happened to be on the camera when I had a tough day. 'Today is a new day and I'm just getting on with the job.' Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (Image: Getty Images ) Article continues below The Chancellor continues to lead on Labour's economic policy including long-term fiscal planning and reforms to public services.
The Guardian
14 minutes ago
- The Guardian
SMILE, it's just a normal day for Labour's happy family of Keir, Rachel and Wes
The show must go on. Less than 48 hours after the government's welfare bill was left in tatters and a day after Rachel Reeves breaking down in tears at prime minister's questions had caused falls in the financial markets, Keir Starmer, his chancellor and the health secretary were keen to present a clean slate. Everything was totally normal. Couldn't be more normal. This had been just another ordinary week in Westminster. Everyone cries during PMQs at some stage in their career. The kind of thing that happens all the time. So normal that Keir, Rachel and Wes Streeting had come mob-handed to make the same announcement. What could be more normal than that? Denial will get you a long way in politics. First, though, Keir had popped up on the Chris Evans show on Virgin Radio to tell listeners how much he admired Rachel and how central she was to the Labour project. He and the chancellor were in lockstep. He couldn't manage without her. She would be around long after he had drifted off the Downing Street mortal coil. She was irreplaceable. He walked in her shadow. Was that enough hyperbole? Keir had more, if more was needed. Simply the best. Better than all the rest. It just made you wonder why he couldn't have said a simple 'yes' when Kemi Badenoch had asked him if Reeves would still be in a job come the next election. That could have saved him, the chancellor and the government a whole world of pain. Not to mention the financial markets. Just a thought. Then to the main event. The launch of the government's 10-year plan for the NHS. Old lags will need no reminding that previous governments have had countless of their own 10-year plans to save the NHS. All of which have ended with the NHS even further on its knees. These days it often feels as if it is on life support. But hope springs eternal and all that. Today marked the day when the NHS would start its rise from the ashes. This 10-year plan would be different. Provided Labour won the next two elections and got to see it through. What could possibly go wrong? Wes is the ideal warm-up man. Invariably chipper and upbeat. Everything is always great in WesWorld. Wes is lucky enough to be one of those who always knows he's loved by everyone. None more so than by himself. Change is happening around us, he declared. Maybe we wouldn't even need 10 years. Maybe he could achieve miracles sooner. It just needed people to believe. 'Now,' said Wes. I want to introduce you to the woman without whom none of this is possible. The woman who has single-handedly saved not just the whole NHS but the entire UK economy. Please say a huge thank you to … Rachel Reeves. This was, of course, just another perfectly normal speech to show just how normal everything was. No matter that there had been no mention of the chancellor also showing up at the community health centre in Stratford, east London, when the media invitation had been sent out. The note had only promised us the health secretary and the prime minister. But sometime between sundown and sunrise, Rachel had been told she was needed onboard. To show just what a normal, tight-knit family everyone was. You had to feel for Rachel. Here she was as Exhibit A in the battle to keep the Labour roadshow going. Politics as performance. Under the spotlight. Damned if she did, damned if she didn't. A barrage of questions if she didn't show her face sometime soon, a barrage of questions if she did. All we had been told was that she had very personal reasons for crying at PMQs and she was planning to keep them private. As if having one of the most stressful jobs in the country and not getting publicly backed by your boss was not personal enough. Reeves had just one job. To look relaxed and smile a lot. She managed half of that. The autocue had constant reminders. SMILE. SMILE AGAIN. SMILE BETTER. The relaxed bit was not such a success. Happy was hard. Her eyes gave her away. A bit like Gordon Brown trying to be chilled out. She would clearly rather have been anywhere but here. But she said a few dull, instantly forgettable words and it was job done. Her first ordeal after her tears over and done with. There would be questions, which she wouldn't answer, but then she could try and move on. The next time wouldn't be so bad. Then came Keir. No mention of WINO. Welfare In Name Only. No mention of Wednesday's unusual Keir and Rachel show. In this new hyper-normal reality, it was time to focus on all the things Labour had done brilliantly in its first year. Four million more hospital appointments. More houses. Trade deals. And now the 10-year NHS plan. He hated to say this but he was spoiling us. Lives were about to be transformed. Disease prevention. Fat jabs for everyone. Here, Westminster was well ahead of the curve. You're hard pushed to find an MP of any party who hasn't managed to secure themselves access to a doctor who will prescribe them a course of weight loss injections. Not forgetting the NHS app. That was going to transform everything. Here I started getting euphoric recall for Matt Hancock. He also had believed in the power of his NHS app. Maybe this new NHS app will be different from Matt's. Pray for Matt. Last heard of giving evidence to the Covid inquiry. Most of the media questions focused on the chancellor. What had really made her cry? Was she really OK now? Not just putting on an act? Would she really still be in a job in four years' time? Keir tried to channel his most caring, protective self. Rachel was fine. It had been personal and would remain so. Could we just focus on the Labour success story? After the press conference, Reeves gave a short interview off camera. She was fine. Really fine. SMILE. Things had never been so normal.
Daily Mirror
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
'I was in the room as Rachel Reeves smiled after tears - one thing troubled me'
It was clear at the start of the week that today's NHS 10-year plan launch was likely to be overshadowed by the devastating Labour rebellion over welfare reforms. What hadn't been yet clear was that a whole new distraction - the image of Chancellor Rachel Reeves crying in the Commons over a personal matter - was going to be on everyone's mind this morning. As I arrived to the health centre venue in east London, rumours were swirling that Ms Reeves would attend the long-awaited announcement of the NHS plan. No10 soon confirmed to me that she would indeed be there. Next came the news that she'd be speaking. As the journalists waited together outside the event, we all asked one another: What would she say, will her and the PM hug, will she address her tears during PMQs yesterday? It was clear the self-proclaimed "Iron Chancellor" wanted to come out fighting. And if we believe the descriptions from her Cabinet colleagues that she is an "extraordinarily resilient" person, it is no surprise she would have wanted to put on a display of strength this morning, in the face of the raw human emotion seen yesterday. As we entered the stage area, the swelteringly hot room felt like an apt atmosphere for a Government who is struggling to bring down the political and emotional temperature. Huge towering lights, a series of TV cameras and journalists and photographers, all hawked over the small, claustrophobic room, reminding us of the sort of daunting spaces politicians must come under all the time. I spotted Treasury and No10 aides first, looking serious and focused, at the back of the room. Then came Ms Reeves, flanked by PM Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting. An applause erupted for the three of them, but it felt as though it was for the Chancellor - which was proven later when the claps for her continued longer than usual when she went up to the podium. The Chancellor did not address her tears as she gave a short speech to the nation, speaking only about the NHS event and how she had pumped money into the health service. While in many a sense, it was a poor decision not to address yesterday's emotions, as it opened the door to a barrage of questions from journalists after, it showed the Chancellor as we know her. Ms Reeves, who was wearing a similar, if not the same, suit she wore to introduce the Autumn Budget, the first one ever set out by a female Chancellor, was there to praise the economy under the Labour government. "We fixed the foundations and we've put our economy back on a strong footing," she said. It was the reassurance the markets needed, after getting spooked last night following her tears. The Q&A was the toughest part for Ms Reeves to endure. Clearly a decision had been made that she was not going to speak - with a short TV interview planned for after the event. But it meant the PM was left to field questions about her, while she sat on the side lines, nodding and smiling. Mr Starmer was asked why he didn't react to her tears during PMQs, whether she would say something about her tears, whether the Chancellor was under too much pressure. They went on and on, with all eyes on Ms Reeves for her reaction. Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here - Lizzy Buchan, Mikey Smith, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke and Ashley Cowburn. Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox. And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday. What was troubling me as I watched Ms Reeves, smiling, nodding and keeping her composure, as a room full of people spoke about her, was that we now know this is a mask. For the markets, the mask might do, to steady the pound and rally Government bonds. But it leaves us with the sad reality that we now all know Ms Reeves, behind the scenes, is facing something deeply upsetting. "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.... 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," she later admitted. At the end of the event, the health workers there swarmed around Ms Reeves and Mr Starmer to take selfies. Our Iron Chancellor grinned, laughed and socialised for the camera-phones in her face. Whether a mask or not, does it matter? As Ms Reeves herself later said: "Today's a new day and I'm just cracking on with the job."
