Prime Minister Keir Starmer was forced to publicly guarantee that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will keep her job for “many years to come” after a week of political and financial turmoil. The crisis began when Starmer failed to back Reeves during hostile questioning in Parliament, where she was seen crying beside him. This triggered a fall in the pound and government bonds, pushing up borrowing costs.
The pair appeared together at the launch of the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan in what was clearly a show of unity. Starmer hugged Reeves in public and gave her credit for NHS reforms. He told reporters that none of the health plans would be happening without the decisions she had taken. The Prime Minister insisted he had not meant to undermine his Chancellor and claimed he simply had not noticed her distress during the Commons exchanges.
