Who could replace Rachel Reeves as Chancellor?
Downing Street has stood by Ms Reeves, saying her tears were triggered by a ' personal issue ' and insisting she was 'going nowhere'.
But the Prime Minister's show of support has not stemmed Westminster's rumour mill, where there was heated talk about who could replace her at the Treasury.
Ms Reeves's emotional display came following a slew of bad news which has made her position increasingly untenable.
A series of government climbdowns over key policies such as welfare reform and the winter fuel cut have increased the fiscal black hole she must fill at the next Budget to a possibly unmanageable £40 billion.
The Chancellor is further constrained by her pre-election pledges not to increase any of the major taxes by which she could otherwise raise revenue: income tax, national insurance, corporation tax and VAT.
She is also facing a series of internal revolts about tax rises she has already announced, including inheritance tax rises on family farms and the abolition of the non-dom tax regime.
It is likely that Labour will now have to announce manifesto-breaking tax rises in the autumn Budget in order to keep to the fiscal rules and maintain market confidence.
Here are the runners and riders to take Ms Reeves's place should she step aside.
Pat McFadden
A softly spoken Scotsman who currently serves as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden has distinguished himself as a loyal servant of Sir Keir Starmer and was considered a key architect of Labour's election victory in his role as the party's national campaign co-ordinator.
Under New Labour he served as a political secretary to Sir Tony Blair but returned to the backbenches for years before being plucked from obscurity by Sir Keir and his top adviser Morgan McSweeney to serve in the shadow cabinet.
He remains close to both men and, as a former shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, has the requisite credentials to take on the Government's top economics job.
In Westminster he is considered the obvious favourite to replace Ms Reeves should she fall.
Rumours of a major promotion for Mr McFadden have been swirling since January, as Ms Reeves's Budget began to disintegrate.
Marianna McFadden, his wife, also serves as a senior figure in Labour.
One senior Labour MP told The Telegraph: 'If there is a change of personalities, then Pat would be a much better communicator than her. You need someone who can actually communicate what we're about.'
Darren Jones
As Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones currently serves as Ms Reeves's effective deputy.
Before being appointed as a member of Sir Keir's front-bench team he was a back-bench firebrand who enjoyed ruffling feathers on X.
He has since become a confident media performer, defending the Government's most controversial moves on the airwaves.
Mr Jones also butted heads with ministers during the spending review when he took the lead in telling big-spending departments that the money they wanted was unavailable. His loyalty to the Starmer project makes him a strong contender to replace his wobbling boss, however his relative youth and inexperience may count against him.
Wes Streeting
The clearly ambitious Health Secretary would undoubtedly relish a promotion to the second most important job in Government and he remains the bookies' favourite to take over from Ms Reeves.
While he has presided over one of the most politically contentious departments as Labour's steward of the health service and shown some results with falling NHS waiting lists, Wes Streeting 's credentials on economics are weaker than some of his rivals.
He has never held an economics brief in Government or opposition.
One minister told The Telegraph: 'It seems to be a personal issue so I don't think Rachel is going anywhere. But if she were to go, then Wes would be a very strong contender to replace her.'
Yvette Cooper
The Home Secretary has carved out a powerful position in this Government, pushing through large-scale immigration reforms that have put her at odds with Labour's more liberal-minded backbenchers.
She would be a conventional choice to replace Ms Reeves. She served as chief secretary to the Treasury during the height of the global financial crisis back in 2008 when Gordon Brown was prime minister.
Yvette Cooper has previously run for the leadership of the Labour Party and, if she moved into Number 11, would build a power base to rival Sir Keir in Number 10.
Ed Miliband
The radical Energy Secretary is probably the most qualified candidate to take the reins at the Treasury.
Throughout the New Labour era he was a key adviser to Mr Brown when he was chancellor, and later served as Labour leader where he put forward Left-wing economic policies such as a mansion tax, raising the top rate of income tax and a ban on all zero hours contracts.
Two factors make a promotion for Ed Miliband unlikely.
Firstly, he is considered to be one of the most Left-wing figures in the Cabinet and is a confident advocate of unconventional ideas, so he could be considered too radical a candidate for the chancellorship.
Secondly, he is passionately committed to the net zero project that he is currently pursuing at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, so he might be reluctant to abandon that crusade only a year into the Labour Government.
Torsten Bell
While only a junior minister for pensions, Torsten Bell is one of the most influential economics brains in Westminster thanks to his previous stint as the head of the Resolution Foundation, a Left-wing economics think tank.
He was parachuted into a safe Labour seat at the general election, a testament to how highly rated he is by the party leadership.
His elevation to Number 11 would be a wild-card move, but remains plausible.
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