Keir Starmer dodged saying that Rachel Reeves is safe from a rumoured reshuffle today as he reels from the latest Mandelson scandal revolt.
Taking the final PMQs before local elections, Sir Keir was challenged by Kemi Badenoch on whether he would sack the Chancellor – who was sat next to him grim-faced.
After the premier seemed to refuse to address the issue, the Tory leader joked that he was ‘wetting himself’ about the prospect of a challenge from Andy Burnham and ‘not in control’.
Claims have been circling in Westminster that Sir Keir has offered Angela Rayner a comeback as soon as next week, despite her ongoing wrangling with HMRC over unpaid stamp duty.
It would be part of a survival strategy as Labour looks down the barrel of apocalyptic results on councils across England, as well as in the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments.
The clashes came as the premier dithers over whether to punish 14 Labour MPs who voted for a privileges committee inquiry into whether he lied to Parliament.
Up to 50 more look to have broken a three-line whip on opposing the motion last night – something that would normally lead to disciplinary action.
However, Sir Keir’s position is so weak that it is unclear whether he will be able to enforce the dire threats made before the vote.
Labour’s huge majority means that the probe was comfortably blocked despite the revolt. Kemi Badenoch said it was a ‘cover-up’ to protect the premier with a local elections drubbing looming next week. Sir Keir himself did not show his face in the chamber yesterday, although he did vote.
Taking the final PMQs before local elections, Keir Starmer was challenged on whether he would sack Chancellor Rachel Reeves – who was sat next to him grim-faced
Sir Keir has repeatedly insisted he wants to see Ms Rayner back on the political front line after she had to resign last year over unpaid stamp duty (pictured together in 2024)
Ministers are nervous about the idea of Ms Rayner returning while the tax issues are still unresolved. One told the Daily Mail that No10 seemed keen to ‘appease the Manchester massive’.
In the Commons, Mrs Badenoch complained that the only thing that was growing was the welfare bill.
But Sir Keir insisted he was ‘proud’ of his record and looking forward to laying out a new programme of legislation in the King’s Speech next month.
Mrs Badenoch said: ‘He’s got a welfare plan until 2031, but he’s not produced a defence investment plan, we have gone backwards on defence under him, because we are borrowing to pay for welfare.
‘Yesterday, we learned that the cost of Government borrowing is now the highest in two decades.
‘Instead of getting a grip on the economy, the Chancellor is briefing out rent controls to curry favour with left-wing backbenchers.
‘It is time the Prime Minister gives her an easier job, so will he listen to businesses, listen to the country, and reshuffle the Chancellor?’
Responding, Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘In the spring statement, the Chancellor was very proud to say inflation was down to 3 per cent and falling. We’ve seen the growth figures for the early part of this year…’
However, Mrs Badenoch noted that the PM had not committed to keeping Ms Reeves in place. ‘It sounds like she’s toast,’ she added.
Although the PM notably did not clear up the situation in the rest of the session, Downing Street said afterwards that he still has full confidence in Ms Reeves. A spokesman said the ‘position remains unchanged’ on a previous pledge that she will remain Chancellor for the whole of this Parliament.
A Tory spokesman said: ‘Keir Starmer had several chances today to guarantee that the Chancellor would stay in post after the local elections. He didnt.
‘Everyone can see that Rachel Reeves is about to become the next person Starmer throws under a bus – another member of his government sacrificed for the Prime Minister’s terrible decisions.’
Sir Keir has repeatedly insisted he wants to see Ms Rayner back on the political front line.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed, a close ally of the premier, fuelled the rumours this morning by heaping praise on Ms Rayner.
‘I love Angela Rayner. She’s a very, very close friend. We’ve been friends for years, and I’m looking forward to seeing her this weekend, having a nice dinner and a good catch up,’ he told GB News.
Mr Reed also seemed to hint that Ms Rayner’s wrangling with HMRC could be on the verge of being settled.
‘I think Angela has spoken for herself over that. That’s being reviewed even as we speak and we’ll hear where that goes after as well,’ he said.
‘But Angela is a great asset for the Labour Party, I think she has an ability to communicate that few other politicians have. She’s one of the people that you know is a big character. People know who she is, but she’s also a really good friend, and I’m looking forward to seeing her.’
The saving grace for the PM up to now has been that none of his rivals are in a position to strike.
Many MPs favour Andy Burnham as a successor, but he is outside of the Commons after Sir Keir blocked him from standing in the Gorton & Denton by-election.
After a day of high drama at Westminster, MPs eventually voted against an inquiry by 335 votes to 223. The 112 margin was significantly lower than the Government’s working majority of around 165.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed was deployed to broadcast studios this morning to try to shore up Sir Keir’s leadership, insisting the Government would not be ‘distracted’ by infighting.
Mr Reed told Sky News: ‘You’ve got a handful of usual suspects that will repeatedly vote against the Government. They’re not going to distract us.
‘You know, we’ve got the renters’ rights reforms coming in this Friday, which gives renters, people who rent their home, the biggest increase in protections and rights that we’ve had for a generation.
‘That is what voters want us to focus on, not a handful of people that go off and don’t play the team game with the rest of us.
Ninety-nine percent of us are united with the Prime Minister so that we can focus on the issues that matter.’
Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) announced last night that it has finished reviewing papers related to Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador.
The official division list showed 14 Labour MPs defied Sir Keir to back the motion. Cat Smith voted both for and against the motion, which is often called an ‘active abstention’
There are claims Sir Keir has asked Angela Rayner to return to the Cabinet in a reshuffle as soon as next week
The Commons ordered the publication of the material in February, amid a wave of fury that almost swept Sir Keir out of power.
The documents are set to include a range of embarrassing messages between ministers and the New Labour architect.
ISC chairman Lord Beamish, a Labour peer, said the committee had ‘made exceptional efforts to ensure that it is not holding up the publication of documents’ and any delay in publication of the documents was ‘in no way due to the committee’s part in the process’.
However, the Government could still challenge those decisions at a private committee hearing, and it is unlikely that any further documents will be published before Parliament returns for the new session.
