Rachel Reeves's brave face cannot mask the challenges she now faces

Independent

2 days ago

If there were any doubts about Sir Keir Starmer 's plans for Rachel Reeves, the prime minister and his chancellor have gone all out to try and put them to bed.
A day after she sat crying through Prime Minister's Questions on live television, the chancellor sat smiling and cheering through the prime minister 's speech outlining a 10-year plan for the NHS.
For his part, Sir Keir shouted 'wahey' as Ms Reeves got to her speech to lay the financial framework for the plan.
And for hers, Ms Reeves nodded, grinned, clapped and repeatedly muttered 'yes, yep, yes' as her boss ran through the strategy.
Hours earlier, the PM had effectively tied his fate to that of his chancellor, declaring that 'we work together, we think together' and that Ms Reeves will be in place until the next general election and - optimistically - beyond.
But not only did Ms Reeves flanking Sir Keir at the set piece speech, in a hastily arranged change of plans, show the pair are walking in lock-step.
It showed that, after an extraordinary day in the Commons where she was seen crying on the frontbenches behind the prime minister, the chancellor is prepared to come out fighting.
In the Q&A which followed Sir Keir's speech, journalist after journalist asked Sir Keir about her tears - even appealing directly to Ms Reeves to address the episode.
Sat directly next to her, The Independent could hear as she huffed and sighed, eventually turning to laughter, each time she was referenced. The message from Ms Reeves: it was a personal matter and she has put it behind her.
Indeed, after the presser Ms Reeves said she was 'clearly upset' on Wednesday but that she is 'cracking on with the job'.
The difference between her and the public, she noted, is that when she is having a hard day at work it can up being shown to the entire country. 'A tough day on the telly,' she admitted.
But, although she may have emerged from the saga stronger, with financial markets descending into chaos at the thought of her being replaced, 'cracking on with the job' will still prove tough.
The farcical U-turn over benefit cuts which contributed to the chancellor's upset has left her with a £5bn black hole to fill in her second Budget this autumn. Ms Reeves had hoped the brutal tax hikes she imposed last October would be her most difficult
But Paul Johnson, outgoing boss of the widely respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), has warned Ms Reeves finds herself between a rock and a hard place.
Speaking to Times Radio as Ms Reeves put on a brave face, Mr Johnson said: 'I think we're now all waiting really for the Budget and that's going to be really, really tough and very dependent on what the Office of Budget Responsibility forecasts are. And really dependent then on, supposing the Chancellor does need to raise additional money, where does she look for it?'
Mr Johnson pointed to growing calls from increasingly restless Labour MPs campaigning for a tax on the ultra-wealthy, warning that this would go down 'very badly' with financial markets.
It is just one of a slew of thorny issues she will have to contend with in the coming months. Another notable point of contention among Labour MPs is the two-child benefit cap, which would cost more than £1bn to scrap.
But Labour rebels are emboldened. They know now that by turning up the pressure they can force the hands of Sir Keir and Ms Reeves.
Ms Reeves may have wiped away the tears after a tough PMQs, but the brave face she donned on Thursday morning belied the much tougher challenges she now has to contend with.