Who could be in the running to replace Rachel Reeves as chancellor?
Who could be in the running to replace Rachel Reeves as chancellor?
In football manager parlance, the dreaded vote of confidence from the club chairman often shortly precedes an inevitable sacking. So when Keir Starmer said on Monday he has “full confidence” in his beleaguered chancellor Rachel Reeves, tongues started wagging on her future.
It was noticeable that the prime minister had to be asked twice before he answered the question, and he avoided saying her job was guaranteed until the next election while on camera.
Only three hours later, at an off-camera briefing, did the Downing Street official spokesperson say Ms Reeves will be chancellor “for the whole of this parliament”. That’s not the same as the prime minister doing it.
Questions over whether Ms Reeves will survive would have been unthinkable six months ago. But with the economy on the brink of a recession, interest rates set to rise and business confidence in the government at its worst point since the Covid pandemic, someone will have to take the blame.