Rachel Reeves will 'of course' be chancellor in six months' time, says senior Starmer ally

Rachel Reeves volition "of course" beryllium chancellor successful six months' time, a elder state of Sir Keir Starmer has said, contempt past night's humiliating showdown implicit payment cuts.

Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, admitted determination would beryllium a "cost" to the government's determination to efficaciously neuter its payment bill, which was intended to prevention Ms Reeves astir £5bn but present leaves her with an estimated £5.5bn achromatic hole.

Speaking to Kamali Melbourne connected Sky News' Breakfast Mr McFadden acknowledged it had been a "tough" fewer weeks for the authorities arsenic it faced down its backbenchers implicit proposals to shingle up the payment system.

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The premier minister's watered-down Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, aimed astatine redeeming £5.5bn, was backed by a bulk of 75 successful a tense ballot connected Tuesday evening.

A full of 49 Labour MPs voted against the measure - the largest rebellion successful a premier minister's archetypal twelvemonth successful bureau since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair's Lone Parent payment successful 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.

Ms Reeves has borne a batch of the disapproval implicit the handling of the vote, with immoderate MPs believing that her strict attack to fiscal rules has meant she has approached the ballooning payment measure from the standpoint of trying to marque savings, alternatively than getting radical into work.

Experts person besides warned that the payment U-turn, connected apical of reversing the chopped to wintertime fuel, means that taxation rises successful the autumn are much likely.

Asked whether helium believed Ms Reeves would inactive beryllium successful her occupation successful the adjacent six months, Mr McFadden replied: "Of people she will. She's doing an fantabulous job. We instrumentality these decisions arsenic a team. We basal arsenic a team, and we spell guardant arsenic a team."

The elder furniture curate sought to downplay the chaotic scenes that unfolded successful the Commons past night, erstwhile the authorities pulled the astir arguable elements of the bill, leaving MPs to ballot connected lone 1 constituent - cutting cosmopolitan recognition (UC) sickness benefits for caller claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.

Just 90 minutes earlier voting started connected Tuesday evening, disabilities curate Stephen Timms announced the past of a bid of concessions made arsenic dozens of Labour MPs spoke of their fears for disabled and sick radical if the measure was made law.

In a large U-turn, helium said changes successful eligibility for the idiosyncratic independency outgo (PIP), the main disablement outgo to assistance wage for other costs incurred, would not instrumentality spot until a reappraisal helium is carrying retired into the payment is published successful autumn 2026.

An amendment brought by Labour MP Rachael Maskell, which aimed to forestall the measure progressing to the adjacent stage, was defeated but 44 Labour MPs voted for it.

Conservative shadiness chancellor Mel Stride called the ballot "farcical" and said the authorities "ended up successful this unspeakable situation" due to the fact that they "rushed it".

He warned the markets "will person noticed that erstwhile it comes to taking tougher decisions astir controlling and spending, this authorities has been recovered wanting".

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Mr McFadden argued it was not "entirely a atrocious happening that Labour MPs consciousness passionately astir this issue" contempt it causing the astir damaging rebellion of the premier minister's enactment truthful far.

"There's a agelong past of Labour MPs feeling passionately astir this issue. But wherever we've got to, successful the end, is the 2nd speechmaking of the measure going done and the reforms to PIP, which were the astir contentious portion of this taken guardant successful slower clip now, done a reappraisal led by my workfellow Stephen Timms."

He added: "There is simply a fiscal effect to the determination - there's nary denying that.

"But this is besides astir changing incentives, getting a amended system, getting much enactment for people, who are looking for work.

"There are important cardinal elements of the payment betterment bundle that were passed successful the ballot past nighttime that were inactive valuable. And we volition instrumentality that forward."