LabourList readers say PM should back Reeves – but not for whole parliament

Rachel Reeves should remain as Chancellor, but the Prime Minister should not be pledging to keep her on for the whole Parliament, a majority of readers said in an informal poll by LabourList this morning.

Amid rising government borrowing costs and media speculation over Reeves’ future, a survey of more than 500 subscribers to LabourList‘s newsletter found 60% said that Rachel Reeves should remain as Chancellor.

More than two-thirds (69%) also agreed that “media criticism of Rachel Reeves’ work as Chancellor” was “excessive”.

It came as the Chancellor defended her record in the Commons on Tuesday, in an appearance praised by commentators from Sky News and The Guardian who suggested it had helped shore up her position. Reeves said economic headwinds meant Britain needed to go “further and faster” seeking growth.

However, only 39% of readers who responded to our poll said they approved of the Chancellor’s “performance as Chancellor so far”, with 52% disapproving.

More than two-thirds (69%) also said that the Prime Minister should not commit to keeping Reeves in her post through until the next general election. Some 79% said Starmer should not guarantee any ministers’ post for the whole parliament.

Will Reeves last the whole Parliament?

Keir Starmer’s refusal yesterday to confirm Reeves would remain in post for the whole Parliament when asked by journalists only fuelled further speculation about the Chancellor’s future.

Many will read the refusal as simply showing awareness of the dangers of making any such guarantee over anyone’s future in politics, and it was accompanied by a staunch defence of Reeves.

But it prompted a further grilling of Downing Street’s spokesperson at a lobby journalists’ briefing on Monday afternoon. The spokesperson is reported to have then suggested Reeves would indeed stay on until the next election, going further than Starmer had.

Reeves faces global challenges, and it’s ‘quite early’ to suggest headroom has vanished

One Labour MP told The Telegraph “questions are going to start to be asked” about Reeves’ future if she had not managed to stabilise the economy by the spending review in a few months’ time.

But one insider told LabourList they were confident Rachel Reeves would remain as Chancellor for the duration of the Parliament.

They said that the issues being faced by the government from financial markets were predominantly the result of global headwinds and suggested some of the unease could be a “pre-Trump reaction” ahead of his inauguration next week.

“It doesn’t seem to me, unlike the Liz Truss crisis, that the spread of government debt in the UK is operating outside the parameters of the spread of other developed nations’ debt. Whilst that is the case, it is quite hard to point to it being a UK decision-centric challenge.

“Everyone is saying the headroom has been wiped out on the basis of two weeks’ worth of debt pricing. The headroom may or may not be wiped out, depending on how consistently that pricing is retained. I think it’s quite early to be calling those sorts of things.

“The question is how long this goes on. I suspect some of this is a pre-Trump reaction and what will really determine how long it goes on is what he ends up doing in the first few months in office.”

Unforced errors ‘as in any new administration’

Reeves has been criticised by many for a string of more controversial spending decisions, from cutting the winter fuel allowance to deciding against compensation for a cohort of women affected by state pension increases.

Multiple Labour MPs have previously told LabourList about how frequently winter fuel cuts come up in their constituencies.

The insider said that Reeves would probably admit that there had been “unforced errors” since Labour took office, “as you get in new administrations”. They said decisions that have been made might not please everyone, but were the right calls for the country.

SIGN UP: Get the best daily roundup and analysis of Labour news and comment in our newsletter

“Are there some things she’d probably do differently? Yes, there are. Are there things she’d have liked to have communicated more effectively? Yes, definitely.

“But, when you look back across all the decisions that have been made in the Budget and around it, the key thing is you make decisions, you try to make the best decisions and that is what moves her forward.

“None of us do political betting anymore, but if I were, I would bet she would be there at the end of the parliament.”

A caveat on the survey…

As the leading dedicated Labour news and comment platform with readers across the country, LabourList hopes the poll may give clues about Labour members’ views more broadly.

It should still be handled with some caution, however. LabourList is not a polling company, and is not suggesting this is a professional weighted poll that provides an exact representation of the views of all party members at large.

While many members read our daily email, anyone can subscribe to it, and anyone can fill in the poll, member or not.

For more from LabourList, follow us on  Bluesky, Threads, X, Facebook,  Instagram or WhatsApp.

• SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour – contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected]. 
• SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning. 
• DONATE: If you value our work, please donate to become one of our supporters here and help sustain and expand our coverage.
• PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or content, email [email protected].