❓WHAT HAPPENED: British Chancellor Rachel Reeves was seen with tears rolling down her cheeks in the House of Commons after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer refused to confirm she would remain in her role until the next election.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch.
📍WHEN & WHERE: During Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The Chancellor is going nowhere. She has the Prime Minister’s full backing.” – Downing Street spokesman.
🎯IMPACT: Market speculation over the Chancellor’s future led to the pound falling by 1.14 percent against the dollar and 0.8 percent against the euro.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, roughly equivalent to U.S. Treasury Secretary in the United Kingdom, was visibly emotional in the House of Commons as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer avoided confirming her position as Chancellor would be secure until the next election. A spokesman for Ms. Reeves claimed her breakdown was related to a “personal matter.”
Reports suggested tensions had risen prior to Prime Minister’s Questions, when legislators grill the premier in the House of Commons, with claims of a disagreement between Ms. Reeves and the Prime Minister and a brief rebuke from Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle during Treasury questions. Both No. 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s official residence, and No. 11 Downing Street, the Chancellor’s official residence, denied these allegations.
Market reactions were swift, with the pound dropping by 1.14 percent against the dollar and 0.8 percent against the euro, hitting its lowest level since April. This comes amid concerns over the government’s fiscal plans, including a nearly £5 billion (~$6.8 billion) gap in Reeves’s spending proposals due to changes in welfare reforms.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch criticized the Prime Minister, stating Reeves looked “absolutely miserable” and challenged him to confirm her position. Sir Keir refused, instead responding that Badenoch “certainly won’t” hold her current role as Leader of the Opposition—likely in reference to the fact that Nigel Farage’s Reform Party looks set to displace the Conservatives, and possibly Starmer’s governing Labour Party, too.
Labour’s welfare reforms have faced significant challenges, with Sir Keir forced to scrap key elements to avoid a Commons defeat. Reeves has also stewarded other unpopular policies, such as higher death taxes on family farmers, leading to substantial protests.
Rachel Reeves appears to start crying at PMQs after Kemi Badenoch asked if she would still be Chancellor at the next election. pic.twitter.com/02tGmxGarL
— LBC (@LBC) July 2, 2025
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