Rachel Reeves has warned her Labour colleagues not to “deviate” from her fiscal rules as the party braces for a leadership race that could begin within days.
Speaking at the Times CEO Summit in London on Thursday, the Chancellor said Labour should stick to its manifesto commitments on economic stability and insisted she plans to carry on in her job.
In a message to potential leadership challengers, she said: “We got elected on the promise to return stability to the economy, and anyone who wanted to deviate from that will not be fulfilling the manifesto commitments.”
She was speaking as voters headed to polling stations across Makerfield in a contest that could see Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham return to Westminster and challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the leadership of the Labour Party.
Mr Burnham caused a furore at last year’s Labour conference in Liverpool after suggesting in an interview that politicians had to “get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets”.
But he later appeared to row back from these comments, saying last month he supported Ms Reeves’s fiscal rules.
He told ITV: “There needs to be a plan to get debt down, but beyond that, we need to change politics and take the turbulence out of British politics, because that is a cause of uncertainty that then has that impact in the markets.”
Mr Burnham is widely expected to launch a challenge for the party leadership if he wins in Makerfield, with former health secretary Wes Streeting also expected to launch a bid of his own.
Sir Keir has repeatedly pledged to fight any challenge, but the prospect of a change in leadership has also prompted speculation about how he might change the Cabinet.
Asked what advice she would give to a potential successor, Ms Reeves said there was “no vacancy” for her job.
She said: “Keir is our Prime Minister, I am his Chancellor.
“I am getting on with the job of being Chancellor of the Exchequer and I plan to continue in that role.”
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