to believe Rachel Reeves was crying because

I’m a centrist who voted Tory until the one-man fiasco that was Boris. I don’t want to pay more tax and think RR is demonstrably wrong about pretty much everything, not bright or experienced enough to be chancellor and lacks even a smudge of gravitas. BUT the sexism in lots of the commentary about her tears is off the scale. I’m old enough to recall Heseltine losing his mind in the HoC (hence the Tarzan nickname), not to mention MP’s head butting, napping, watching porn, playing candy crush…. the response to all of which was an eye-roll and occasionally a piss-takey nickname. Yes the markets were spooked, gilts are now looking worse than when Truss was racing a lettuce, but equally if it was a male MP showing “man emotion” yesterday, we would all have bloody well moved on by now.

I’m not complaining about lack of empathy. My comment was in response to someone else, for whom empathy seems to be the highest virtue. I prefer my chancellors to have sound judgement, a grasp on what drives an economy and loyalties in the right place. Of course she has a black hole, she has utterly ridiculous spending plans that need slashing as a first port of call. Why are we paying good money to hand over the chagos?!

Empathy doesn’t pay the bills. Remember that when you’re tempted to complain about forthcoming tax rises. It’s a bit rich to complain about lack of empathy when you’ve shown none towards Reeves on this thread.

Reeves should not have cried publicly, and I feel disappointed as a woman that she did that.
However, it’s just blatant misogyny to blame her alone for budget cock ups. I think it’s quite clear that Starmer is in the process of throwing her under the bus. She was given a brief, and because he ys turning out to be a spineless and craven coward he keeps u turning and SHE gets the blame for all and any outcomes.
It’s appalling how blatant it is when people say “ Liz Truss ( Prime Minister) crashed the economy. Nobody seems to remember that Kwasi Kwartemg was chancellor, and yet it’s all Rachel Reeves fault when things are going pear shaped and Starmer (Prime Minister) is not held to account!
I think that pledging to not raise taxes but going after employer NI was a huge mistake but these are Starmer policies too and she works for him!
So I’m disappointed she crumbled ( and I knew her as an MP a little bit and she was very competent) but I’m more disappointed in Starmer. Reeves will be, like all women in politics when things go bad, a handy scapegoat.
And she is infinitely more qualified than Hunt, who presided over the COL crisis!!

Not forgetting Paula Vennells.

Reeves and Truss between them have set back women in top jobs immensely.

Our current government is the epitome of lacking empathy and bulldozing forward!!

I agree @CircusofPuffins - I don’t know why they do it - but thank god they do.
otherwise we would end up with tyrant types who lack empathy and bulldoze their way forward… As we are seeing in other countries.

I’m sure she’s exhausted and human.

We are used to people with a thicker skin and sense of self and entitlement. These types of people find it easier to blame everyone else but themselves.
I feel like the Labour Party is full of people who are more like the rest of us.
I would probably struggle not to cry if I was dealing with some of the challenges they’re facing.

Yep. Although it was Starmer’s inability to answer in a way to reassure the markets that set her off.

She’s clearly had a bad time, probably due to party infighting. Nothing to do with KB incidentally.

Come on Rachel… it’s cardboard box time.

Oh yes and here we go on the we don't want this prime minister now, we're going to all fight for the top job and the next one will probably only last for 6 months just like the tories. Shocking.

I refer you to my final sentence.

I have never ever cried at work, I'd sooner throw myself off a tall building. Well once when my 21 year old cat died, I'd had her since she was a kitten, but I didn't go in that day, I took emergency annual leave and told them the reason. For her to do that in front of cameras with the country watching, and in front of parliament there must have been appalling stuff going on for months, I cannot bear to think what has been going on behind the scenes. I did feel for her big time.
I can't ever see Kemi crying, she's more likely to make grown men cry.

Can you imagine the fallout if she hadn't turned up at all?!

Yeah. And it would have been better than this. She needed to excuse herself when she felt herself losing it.

No resignation yet.

how on earth can starmer say she’s doing a good job? Unless his objective is to tank the country. Which, looking at the chagos fiasco, the lure of the promised land to illegal migrants, the destruction of industry, the dismantling of land safety, I can only believe it is. In which case give that woman a pay rise!!!

She should be standing up explaining what her party would do differently

Why should Kemi be explaining what she would do differently? It is irrelevant what she would do as she is in opposition. She should be holding the government accountable for what they ARE doing.

It could be her children’s school has been forced to close because of pointless education taxes? Or her business has had to fold because of financially illiterate job taxes? Or her parents got sick over winter because they couldn’t afford heating? Or her husband just lost his job because of job tax?
In which case, I’d say ‘we have to make tough decisions’ whilst smirking.

Have you come across politics before?

Stephen Kerr’s statement was political point scoring and bland.

Just tried to find his (Shadow minister for employment and investment in the Scottish Parliament) statement. The only thing I could find was on X him saying:

Keir Starmer- and especially Rachel Reeves- look entirely banjaxed at #PMQs. Their Government has no purpose apart from survival. It's been less than a year, and they have a 170 seat majority.

Not sure why that is even worth mentioning?

What tax would you have raised nstead? given the unfunded cuts n NI by Hunt costing £10billion per year and other costs handed to the new Govt? such has pay review pay riises, perhaps you wouldn't have honoured them, that was an option.

Or would you have cut public spending?

The NI increase on business hasn't led to the collapse in the jobs market and growth has increased too.

But yes i do agree the WFA was ridiculous but that would have been run past the cabinet... they agreed to it... it shouldn't be put just on Reeves.

Restrict the fuller winter fuel allowance to those born before 1940 maybe was one way to rationalize it.

This is Starmer and Labour too though. It’s a collective failing to do these things with him as leader.

ETA I agree with your post but would add the others.

How was she supposed to know it was personal?

How are any of us? We have been told it was personal to shut down questioning and to elicit sympathy, but it could just be that she ‘personally’ feels overwhelmed by the role.

I don’t think it matters. It could be a culmination of things, as is often the case with most people.

She looked very tired and drawn. I’m not a fan but I do feel empathy for her.