Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride has accused the Prime Minister of “completely bungling it” by failing to support Chancellor Rachel Reeves during a challenging Commons appearance yesterday.
Speaking on GB News, Stride suggested the Prime Minister’s inadequate response at the dispatch box contributed to a spike in gilt yields.
“Because that is one of the reasons why we’ve seen this spike in gilt yields in the gilts market, which of course, means higher interest rates for our country to borrow money,” he said.
After failing to defend Reeves’s future as Chancellor during PMQs, the Prime Minister assured that she is doing an “excellent job” and her tears in the Commons were due to a “personal matter”.
Mel Stride hit out at Keir Starmer for his ‘massive misstep’ in not defending Rachel Reeves in the Commons on Wednesday
PA / GB News
Starmer said: “She’s done an excellent job as Chancellor and we have delivered inward investment to this country in record numbers. It was a personal matter for her, I’m not going to intrude on her privacy by talking to you.”
The Shadow Chancellor characterised the Prime Minister’s handling of the situation as “a massive misstep” amongst what he described as numerous U-turns.
Stride revealed he had contacted Reeves following the Commons session to express his concern for her wellbeing. “I messaged her afterwards just to say I hope that she was all right and that I felt for her at that particular moment in time,” he said.
The Shadow Chancellor described witnessing Reeves’s distress as “quite upsetting” and noted she appeared “clearly very stressed” during the parliamentary session.
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Reflecting on the harsh nature of politics, Stride said: “There’s so much brutality in politics, and you see it from other politicians. You see it from the press, the media, social media, and so on. But never to forget that people are ultimately human beings.”
When questioned about whether Reeves would remain Chancellor until the autumn Budget, Stride expressed uncertainty: “We’ll have to wait and see where all of that goes.”
He noted that while the Prime Minister had subsequently announced that Reeves would remain in post until the next general election, this statement came too late.
“Well, if that was always the case, it seems to me that he completely bungled it at the dispatch box yesterday by not stating that clearly then,” Stride said.
Stride told GB News that Starmer ‘completely bungled’ his handling of Rachel Reeves’s upset in the Commons
GB News
Stride warned that the increased borrowing costs resulting from the gilt yield spike would have direct consequences for taxpayers. “Ultimately it’s got to be paid for, almost certainly by way of higher taxes at the Budget in the autumn,” he said.
The Shadow Chancellor drew a direct link between the Prime Minister’s failure to provide immediate backing for Reeves and the subsequent market reaction.
He argued: “We know that subsequently, the Prime Minister has come out and said that the Chancellor will stay in post until the next general election.
“Well, if that was always the case, it seems to me that he completely bungled it at the dispatch box yesterday by not stating that clearly then. Because that is one of the reasons why we’ve seen this spike in gilt yields in the gilts market, which of course, means higher interest rates for our country to borrow money.”