Chancellor Rachel Reeves appeared emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions, with a tear spotted rolling down her cheek as Keir Starmer faced off against Kemi Badenoch.
The unexpected moment came just a day after Labour’s massive U-turn on welfare reforms — a move that blew a £5 billion hole in Reeves’ economic plans.
All is not well on the front bench – a tear rolls down Rachel Reeves’s face during PMQs pic.twitter.com/Q7KEbTO46d
Deputy PM Angela Rayner was seen checking in on Reeves during the exchange, quietly asking if she was okay while tension simmered across the frontbench.
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🎯 Tory jabs hit close to home
Badenoch didn’t miss the chance to twist the knife, asking:
“In January, he said that [Reeves] would be in post till the next election. Will she really?”
Starmer fired back with a quip, pointing at the Tory leader instead:
But he avoided directly confirming Reeves’ position, instead criticising Badenoch’s performance:
“She always makes a complete mess of it and shows how unserious and irrelevant they are.”
🧾 Chancellor under pressure
Sources close to Reeves declined to comment on the tearful moment, with a spokesperson telling HuffPost UK:
“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.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the prime minister insisted:
“The chancellor is going nowhere. She has the prime minister’s full backing.”
Kemi Badenoch: Will Rachel Reeves be in post at the next election?
The emotional scenes followed a brutal 24 hours for the Treasury, after Starmer was forced to abandon key parts of the party’s welfare bill in the face of rebellion from Labour backbenchers.
With pressure piling on from all sides, it’s clear that Starmer’s top team is feeling the heat — and Reeves’ rare moment of vulnerability in the chamber didn’t go unnoticed.
