Politics latest: ‘A moment of intense peril’ for PM – as Reeves seen in tears at remarkable PMQs | Politics News

By Faith Ridler, political reporter

PMQs was a tough watch today.

A day after the government’s welfare bill was effectively gutted due to a looming rebellion, the chancellor was visibly upset in the Commons.

The mood in the press gallery was one of shock as Rachel Reeves wiped away tears, her lip shaking as she clearly tried to hold back sobs.

We’ve since heard this was due to a “personal matter”, with a No 10 spokesperson insisting the chancellor isn’t planning to resign.

But one thing made the scene on the front benches far worse – Kemi Badenoch’s decision to draw attention to it.

As the Commons live feed edged the chancellor out of their shot, the Conservative leader pushed her back into the spotlight, telling MPs Reeves looked “absolutely miserable”.

This was as part of a longer – and admittedly very fair – question about whether the prime minister was sure of her future.

And though I’m sure many in the Chamber had noticed her upset, was it appropriate for Badenoch to bring it up?

Could she have soared through six questions to the prime minister with the open goal she had without drawing attention to it? Probably.

Did she gain anything from doing so? Probably not.

It arguably said more about Badenoch’s character that she decided to.

I’d hope most of us wouldn’t point and yell if they saw a colleague crying in the office. Reeves did have a gentle nudge from an MP behind her, which she waved off before PMQs got under way.

It’s worth noting that at the time, we didn’t know the chancellor wasn’t upset over yesterday’s vote. 

But regardless of whether we did, it was a low-blow, Mean Girls moment from Badenoch.

The Conservatives said the reason the Tory leader pointed out Reeves “looked miserable” was because the prime minister had failed to confirm she would stay in her job. No 10 later did.

But one thing is clear – all gloves were off in the Commons today.