'A tough day on the telly': Reeves addresses tearful appearance at PMQs

Reeves on 'great form' during health speech, says minister

Stephen Kinnock, the health minister, has insisted Rachel Reeves was on "absolutely great form" in east London this morning.

The chancellor spoke briefly as the prime minister unveiled his 10-year health plan, a day after shedding tears in the Commons.

Kinnock told Sky's Jayne Secker: "I was at the launch event this morning, and it was great to see Rachel there, she was on absolutely great form.

"It was right for her to be there talking about the decision she has made as chancellor which have enabled us to invest this £29bn in our NHS.

"That is going to be the foundation of the 10-year plan that is going to revolutionise health and care services in our country."

'Absolutely normal' for Reeves to be at PMQs

Asked if somebody should have stepped in on Wednesday and told her to take the afternoon off, the minister said: "The chancellor wants to be at Prime Minister's Questions shoulder to shoulder with the prime minister.

"Putting the government's case to the people, and also of course dismantling so much of the ridiculous stuff that we hear from Kemi Badenoch and her team.

"I think it's absolutely normal for the chancellor to be there.

"Clearly, there were some personal issues and Rachel was upset and that came through as the PMQs session went on."

Sympathy aside, the chancellor still has an almost impossible task ahead

It's the first time Rachel Reeves has addressed her tearful appearance at PMQs yesterday. The images, spread over the front pages today, that will stick with the chancellor forever. 

She clearly felt she needed to address the matter head on, having avoided journalists' questions directed at her moments earlier inside a news conference about the government's plans for the NHS.

"When I'm having a tough day, it's on the telly," she said. 

Reeves chooses fight over flight

Reeves' words don't really tell us anything we didn't know, she says she won't be getting into the private matter that affected her, but seeing her directly answering questions about such a personal ordeal is striking. 

One thing is for sure, this is not the Reeves we saw yesterday. The chancellor looked relaxed, smiling, even laughing at times. 

Realistically she had two choices: go to ground or try to put on a brave face. Flight or fight. The chancellor has chosen the latter, which she hopes will draw a line under an extraordinary situation. 

"That was yesterday, today is a new day," she said.

For now, many will understandably feel a great deal of sympathy for her as a human. As a chancellor though, she still has an almost impossible task ahead.  

Tories welcome NHS plan

Some rare praise has come the government's way from the opposition benches this lunchtime, as MPs discuss the 10-year plan for the NHS unveiled earlier.

Responding to Health Secretary Wes Streeting's statement about the plan, which was outlined by the PM beforehand (see key points above), shadow health secretary Edward Argar said it's "ambitious".

"I believe his long-term goals are right," he told the Commons, praising "the desire to shift care from hospital to community".

Commitments to better use technology and move from hospital care to prevention are also welcome, he said.

But he warned the plans are still quite "sketchy", and the NHS won't survive without reform as well as simply more cash - with current spending levels "not fiscally sustainable in the long-term".

Reeves can't rule out tax rises after welfare changes

Rachel Reeves refused to rule out future tax rises when asked about the cost of welfare changes that passed their first Commons hurdle this week.

The chancellor said "of course there is a cost" to reforms, but said she wouldn't speculate about the autumn budget.

"We'll get a new forecast, and we'll do the budget later this year," she said.

"But of course there is a cost to the welfare changes that parliament voted through this week and that will be reflected in the budget.

"But I'm also very, very clear that that stability that we've been able to return to the economy which has enabled the Bank of England to cut interests rates four times is only possible because of the fiscal discipline which is underpinned by the fiscal rules.

"And we'll be sticking to those because they're absolutely vital for the living standards of working people and also the costs businesses face."

'When I'm having a tough day it's on the telly': Chancellor addresses tearful PMQs

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was "clearly" upset in the Commons during Prime Minister's Questions yesterday.

However, she said it was her job to be in the Commons "supporting the government and that's what I tried to do". 

The chancellor shed tears while in the chamber on Wednesday, with her spokesperson insisting this was due to a personal issue.

However, she refused to give the reason behind her tears.

'Most don't have to deal with that'

Reeves said: "It was a personal issue, and I'm not going to go into the details of that.

"My job as chancellor at 12pm on a Wednesday is to be at PMQs next to the prime minister, supporting the government and that's what I tried to do.

"I guess the thing that maybe is a bit different between my job and many of your viewers' is that when I'm having a tough day it's on the telly and most people don't have to deal with that."

Rayner visits Anfield after death of Diogo Jota

The deputy prime minister said she was "absolutely devastated" by the news that the Liverpool footballer had died in a car crash aged 28.

Angela Rayner, who laid flowers at the club's Anfield, stadium, said it was "just so heartbreaking" to hear of his death, shortly after his wedding.

'Absolutely devastated'

"It just shows how life events can change so quickly. I'm absolutely devastated for his wife, his children, and his family," Rayner adds.

"My son is 28, and it's just really shocking.

'I feel nothing but sympathy': Apprentice star Brady weighs in on Reeves' tears

Conservative peer, Baroness Karren Brady, has told Sky News she feels "nothing but sympathy" for the chancellor, after Rachel Reeves was seen crying in the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Speaking at an even in the City of London, the Apprentice star told Sky News she agreed with Kemi Badenoch's description of Reeves as "a shield" for the PM, which "there's probably a bit of truth" to.

'Very dangerous' to label Reeves 'weak' for crying

Brady, who has previously been critical of the Labour government's negative economic sentiment and tax hikes on business, said Reeves is "a strong, diligent person doing her job to the best of her ability under incredibly difficult circumstances".

"She will be labelled 'weak' because it's a woman crying, the first woman chancellor, and I think that's a very dangerous thing," she warned.

"She's made some pledges, that through no fault of her own, she may not be able to deliver because the floor has changed from underneath her."

PM defends 'nanny state' preventative health measures

It is next put to Sir Keir Starmer that anyone in the NHS would say that one of the keys to saving it is improving the lives that people lead - but such measures often get labelled as "nanny state" instructions.

To that end, the PM is asked finally if "there is anything in the 10-year plan that's going to be different to what's been promised before?"

On the nanny state charge, the PM repeats the story he has been recounting for over a year about visiting Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool and seeing young children having rotting teeth pulled out.

He says: "I'm not interested in arguments about nanny state. If the price of not doing it is a child losing his or her teeth before they're 10-years-old, I'll take those measures any day of the week, and I'll defend them any day of the week."

Having to deal with things like tooth problems takes away from things like heart operations, which is why "we absolutely have to take these preventative measures".

Starmer 'very confident' his government will see NHS 10-year plan through

Sir Keir Starmer was asked how confident he is that his government can secure the three terms needed to see his 10-year NHS plan through.

The prime minister says he is "very confident" because "this government was brought into power talking about change".

"People desperately want change on so many levels, but one thing that came through in the election campaign loud and clear was 'please change the NHS for the better'".

He adds: "I know that it broke the hearts of staff that satisfaction in the NHS was at an all time low.

"Imagine working really hard in the NHS - and because the government hasn't given the backing and support" satisfaction is low.

"When Labour last was in power, we left with the lowest waiting lists and the highest satisfaction.

"That's where we need to get to."

-SKY NEWS