IF there is one cast-iron rule in politics, it’s this: If the Prime Minister is having to say he has full confidence you will stay in your job, your days are definitely numbered.
So no wonder then that Rachel Reeves was moved to tears as she sat behind Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs on Wednesday when, after months of saying she would be his Chancellor until the next election and beyond, he chose to studiously dodge the question.
It is no wonder that Rachel Reeves was moved to tears at PMQsPA
Wes Streeting, Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer at the launch in East London of the Government’s ten-year NHS health planJack Hill/The Times
After Two-Tier Keir, we now have Two-Tear Rachel.
As those tears rolled down her cheeks, the Chancellor prompted feverish speculation about the cause of her sobs — wiping £3billion off the markets, pushing up government borrowing costs and devaluing the Pound into the bargain.
Wheeled out to face the cameras yesterday, Reeves plastered on the make-up and a beaming smile to insist she had been upset about a “personal issue” and had been “having a tough day” which, unlike most people’s bad days, was broadcast “on the telly” for all to see.
We may never know the true reason behind her blubbing, but what we do know is that her wobbly bottom lip didn’t just wobble the markets, it also sent trembles through the entire Government.
Facing a swift exit
There is no doubt now that Rachel Reeves is facing a swift exit from the Treasury, even if she does survive until the autumn Budget. Yet the real question mark now is not over HER future but that of her boss, the Prime Minister.
This, after all, was supposed to be a week of celebration for Labour’s first year in office after winning a landslide victory in the General Election last July.
Instead the PM has suffered a humiliating defeat in the Commons over his welfare reforms at the hands of his own backbenchers and been forced to deny he plans to sack his Chancellor while facing approval ratings so low that they’ve surfaced in New Zealand.
Some of us knew this Labour government would be bad but not many realised just how bad they would turn out to be.
It would have been inconceivable a year ago to imagine, after being elected to Downing Street with a whopping 411 MPs, that Starmer would be facing questions about not only his Chancellor’s future but even his own so soon.
Even Britney Spears has had longer honeymoons than this.
And for all the PM’s claims that Reeves will be Chancellor for years to come, after months of broken promises and U-turns no one actually believes a word he says any more.
After all, Rachel From Accounts hardly had a great start in the job. From the disastrous decision to cut winter fuel payments to ten million pensioners to the inflation-busting pay rises for train drivers and doctors, to the revelations that her CV was full of exaggerations and her taste for freebie tickets to Taylor Swift concerts, the Chancellor’s reputation has long been in tatters.
The sight of Reeves blubbing in the Commons this week wasn’t just embarrassing for her — it embarrassed the whole country.
And the desperate cries of “bullying!” and “sexism!” by Labour MPs are shameless coming from a party that happily attacked both Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May for crying as they left office.
If you can’t stand the heat, Rachel, get out of the Number 11 kitchen.
It is obvious to everyone that Rachel From Accounts is way out of her depth. But she isn’t alone
Julia Hartley-Brewer
The Chancellor’s claims to have had a “tough day” will fall flat with many voters who are having tough days EVERY day thanks to this Government’s policies.
What about people struggling to pay their bills as the cost of living continues to rise and taxes go up? What about pensioners worried about putting the heating on last winter after Reeves took away their winter fuel allowance?
What about the farmers who face losing their family farm thanks to the inheritance tax hike? What about the small business owners who have had to shut up shop after the Chancellor’s employer National Insurance rises?
Everyone in Westminster knows that the only thing keeping Reeves in her job right now is that she acts as the PM’s human shield — someone he can blame for every mishap, every poor judgment, every U-turn and every tax rise to come in the next Budget.
From being hailed as Labour’s greatest asset, as “the first woman Chancellor” (as if anyone cared), Reeves has quickly become the Government’s punching bag. No wonder the tears have started rolling.
It is obvious to everyone that Rachel From Accounts is way out of her depth. But she isn’t alone.
Starmer is also flailing around like a drowning man, desperate to blame anyone and anything else for his own failings.
Nothing of substance
Ultimately, though, everyone knows he is in charge and the buck stops with him.
Reeves may have exposed a fatal weakness with her tears, but the past 12 months have revealed far greater failings in her boss.
As he marks his first year in office, we now know that underneath Starmer’s shiny helmet of Brylcreemed hair, there is absolutely nothing of substance.
Sir Keir has proved himself to be a Prime Minister with no ideas and no philosophy, no policies and no plan; a man with no backbone and no moral compass. He is a leader who cannot lead, a manager who cannot manage, a politician with no political instinct.
The Prime Minister is just an empty suit — and he likely didn’t even pay for the suit himself. He probably got Labour donor Lord Ali to buy it for him.
Starmer can keep telling us that his Chancellor is going nowhere but we all know her exit from the Treasury will come sooner rather than later.
The question remains, after his damaging and chaotic first 12 months in office, can the country survive another year of this Prime Minister?
VYLAN COUNT COST OF HATE
WORDS have consequences, as the Left-wing cancel culture mob have cried for years as they happily ended the careers of anyone who dared to question them.
Well, indeed they do for Bob Vylan, the punk-rap duo from the mean streets of Ipswich, who led chants of “Death, death to the IDF” and ranted about “f***ing Zionists” during their Glastonbury performance as it was live-streamed on the BBC iPlayer.
Not only do they now face a criminal investigation over their antisemitic chants, they’ve been dropped by their management, seen visas for a US tour revoked, and UK gigs have been cancelled. Oops.
There have been consequences too for the BBC, where institutional antisemitism is now so part and parcel of the corporation’s culture that, no one – not even the Director General Tim Davie – could spot the obvious anti-Jew hatred in those chants and shut down the live feed from public view.
Now the BBC has said it will no longer live-broadcast “high risk” performances and staff may face disciplinary action for any failures. As Bob Vylan face the fallout from their “music” hate-fest, they should learn a lesson from another Glasto performer.
As Rod Stewart proved, there’s a lot more longevity in showbiz for entertainers who show musical talent than there is for those spewing vile torrents of hate. Oh yes, and a bevy of beautiful leggy blonde backing singers helps too.
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