The Chancellor appeared visibly emotional during Wednesday’s PMQs, with a spokesperson later attributing her reaction to a “personal matter.” However, it has since emerged that Reeves had a private confrontation with Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle before the session began.
According to reports, Sir Lindsay spoke with Reeves about her conduct during Treasury questions on Tuesday, where she had been asked three times to shorten her responses. When he interrupted her on the third occasion, she replied, “Oh, alright then,” prompting concerns about decorum in the chamber. Sir Lindsay reportedly referenced a tweet by political sketch writer Quentin Letts, who had highlighted the exchange, and suggested such interactions reflected poorly on both of them.
Following the conversation, Reeves is said to have become emotional, and her team later confirmed she had been dealing with unrelated personal issues prior to attending PMQs.
The incident has sparked a sharp political backlash. Robert Jenrick, the Shadow Justice Secretary, issued a scathing statement:
“Rachel Reeves’s benefits Bill is dead, and so is her career. She’s been humiliated by her own backbenchers and forced into her most embarrassing U-turn yet.
By her own metric, she’s crashed the economy, lost the confidence of the markets, and now it seems, lost the confidence of the Prime Minister too. It’s time for Reeves to go.”
The row comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faces mounting criticism over the watering down of Labour’s proposed welfare reforms, which were initially expected to save £5 billion. Concessions made to appease Labour rebels have now erased those projected savings.
With the welfare bill in disarray, pressure is intensifying on Reeves to find alternative funding sources, with ministers refusing to rule out tax rises in the autumn Budget.
A spokeswoman for Sir Lindsay Hoyle declined to comment. Ms Reeves’ office has been contacted for a response.
