Rachel Reeves has described the moment she broke down in tears during Prime Minister's Questions as her 'toughest moment' as Chancellor – an incident that moved markets and landed her on front pages the next day.
In an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg this morning, Reeves laughed when asked about her hardest moment in two years at the Treasury. 'I would say, don't cry on national television,' she replied. 'That was probably my toughest moment – or perhaps even tougher, seeing the photos of me crying on national television on the front pages of every newspaper the following day.'
“Rachel Reeves says crying in Parliament was her toughest moment as Chancellor, and admits she would make different choices if she could go back two years.”
Last July, Reeves appeared distressed while sitting behind Keir Starmer in Parliament, sparking speculation – coinciding with the first anniversary of Labour's election victory – that she was about to be sacked. She has never revealed the specific reasons for breaking down, but told Kuenssberg: 'It was a tough day, we all have tough days. People have difficult days at work, and that was one for me.' The day after the incident, she had said 'a personal issue' was behind her emotional state.
The interview may prove to be one of Reeves's final acts as Chancellor, with incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham expected to replace her. Among the top candidates are Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, and former Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
Pressed by Kuenssberg on whether she regretted policies such as scrapping the universal winter fuel payment and changes to national insurance contributions for employers, Reeves admitted: 'I am absolutely certain if we could go back two years, there are choices that I made that would be different. But look at the big picture, look at the plan, look at the strategy that I have been pursuing, and that strategy was to return stability to the economy, to enable interest rates to come down. We are growing for the first time and seeing productivity growth in our economy at rates we haven't seen for a long while.'
Reflecting on her tenure, Reeves said: 'I will go down in history as the first female Chancellor. But what I really hope is that – something I said, actually, when I gave my first speech as Chancellor, that I would know my time in office was a success if young women and girls felt there should be no ceiling on their ambition. And I do know, and I do believe, that there are young women today who say, "Maybe I could do that job one day." That's a great thing.'