Starmer fails to guarantee chancellor’s future and does not rule out tax rises to fund welfare bill U-turn – UK politics live | Politics

Starmer failed to repeat his promise on whether Rachel Reeves will stay as chancellor until the next election, as Badenoch said she was a “human shield” for the prime minister’s “incompetence”.

Badenoch said:

This man has forgotten that his welfare bill was there to plug a black hole created by the chancellor. Instead they’re creating new ones. They’re creating new ones.

[Rachel Reeves] is pointing at me, she looks absolutely miserable. Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?

Starmer replied:

[Kemi Badenoch] certainly won’t. I have to…