Labour MP Barry Gardiner has hit out at the media and political commentators for their treatment of the Chancellor, following her emotional appearance during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Mr Gardiner expressed frustration over the intense scrutiny, saying: “This is what I hate about politics and the media: you pile the pressure on somebody and then when actually they respond in a human way, what do you do? You then focus on that and blow it all up.”

Via a post on her X account, columnist Allison Pearson has joined the voices already calling for the Chancellor to quit her post.

Nigel Farage described Rachel Reeves’s emotional performance during PMQs as “quite difficult to watch.” The Reform UK leader dubbed the day “wobbly Wednesday,” insisting “something really was going badly wrong” as the Chancellor fought back tears while Sir Keir Starmer faced his weekly Commons grilling.

The Clacton MP called it a “genuinely miserable” 24 hours for the Labour Government, coming after yesterday’s dramatic U-turn on welfare cuts following a significant Labour rebellion. Speaking on GB News, Farage said: “It has been a genuinely miserable 24 hours for the Government.”

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been dealt a major fiscal blow after Labour’s concessions to welfare rebels left a £4.8 billion shortfall in her carefully balanced spending plans.

The dramatic climbdown came as the Government scrambled to avoid its first Commons defeat, shelving controversial proposals to tighten eligibility for Personal Independence Payments (PIP). The delay, which pushes reforms back until at least autumn 2026, has effectively wiped out a forecasted £4.8 billion in savings.

The move also signals a major setback for Sir Keir Starmer’s welfare reform agenda, with one of its cornerstone policies now indefinitely postponed pending the outcome of a lengthy review.

The Chancellor, who appeared visibly upset in the House of Commons during Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, has now been left without a clear plan to plug the gap. Her distress only deepened as Sir Keir Starmer pointedly refused to confirm whether she would remain in her post for the remainder of the Parliament.

With mounting fiscal pressures and open questions over her future, Reeves now faces what could be her toughest challenge yet. But will the British public respond favourably to her public display of emotion? Or is this the final nail in the coffin of her political career?

Have your say by voting in poll here.

A body language expert has claimed Rachel Reeves was visibly battling her emotions even before Prime Minister’s Questions began on Wednesday — as pressure mounted over her future as Chancellor.

Reeves, who has faced fierce scrutiny following Labour’s dramatic welfare U-turn that tore a near-£5 billion hole in her fiscal plans, was seen wiping away tears in the Commons chamber. Her emotional response intensified as Sir Keir Starmer dodged questions about whether she would remain in her post until the end of the Parliament.

Judi James, a leading body language expert, told the Express that Reeves’ posture and expression revealed inner turmoil from the outset.

“Reeves was clearly struggling with her emotions before PMQs started,” she said. “But the moment the tears seemed to become uncontrollable was as she was watching Starmer try to list all his party’s achievements and when he appeared unwilling or unable to answer questions about his chancellor remaining in her role.”

James added: “Her body looked slewed to one side in a form of slump, with her shoulders hunched and her head low.”

While Number 10 later insisted Reeves is “going nowhere”, her tearful appearance has only intensified speculation over Labour’s economic direction — and her place at the helm.

Read on for the complete Express story.

Rachel Reeves’s tears in the Commons were “nothing to do with politics” and she will be Chancellor for a “very long time to come”, Sir Keir Starmer has told the BBC.

Speaking to the BBC’s podcast Political Thinking with Nick Robinson, the Prime Minister denied suggestions the Chancellor was upset by the fallout over the Government’s welfare Bill.

Sir Keir said: “That’s absolutely wrong, it’s got nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with what’s happened this week. It was a personal matter for her. I’m not going to intrude on her privacy by talking to you about that. It is a personal matter.”

Asked if Ms Reeves would remain in her post, the Prime Minister said: “She will be Chancellor by the time this is broadcast, she will be Chancellor for a very long time to come, because this project that we’ve been working on to change the Labour party, to win the election, change the country, that is a project which the Chancellor and I’ve been working on together.”

Paymaster General Nick Thomas-Symonds interview with the BBC’s Newsnight “When people show their humanity, I think that’s a perfectly acceptable thing to do.”

Alex Kerr, of Capital Economics, has warned that another tax raid could be looming. He said: “Combined with the about-turns on welfare spending and winter fuel payments, which will cost around £6 billion, that leaves the Chancellor’s headroom pretty much wiped out at just under £1 billion.”