to believe Rachel Reeves was crying because

She was crying because her disastrous budget has stunted economic growth, businesses are not expanding and are reducing staffing levels.

Her economic figures are smashed and she has a big black hole in her budgetary figures. She now has an even bigger black hole now that the labour rebels refused to support the changes to the welfare bill. This wasn’t thought through in sufficient detail and whilst it’s necessary to address the problems here it was handled in a crack handled manner by everyone involved.

She’s billions of pounds adrift in her budget and knows it.

She and Starmer made unrealistic promises from the get go regarding taxation.
She then seriously hampered business and economic growth that has significantly impacted her economic figures, accepting there’s also been other external factors that’s exacerbated the financial turmoil further.

She knows she’s damaged as is Starmer. She knows she can’t round the square. Her colleagues are also gunning for her.

Her boss refused to back her today when asked.

She has many reasons to cry, but it’s totally unprofessional and further illustrates how out of her depth she is within her role.

Reeves has brought this all on herself. History will rightly not be kind on her and I suspect that she’s starting to realise that.

She has harmed so many people it is hard to have any sympathy for her whatsoever.

There are too many people claiming they cannot work who would not have been supported in that, or would not even have thought about claiming it in the past. There were always chancers of course. And I am NOT saying that all people on MH disability are lying. I do believe there are people who genuinely just cannot work because of their problem. But I have just moved from working in general mental health because I could not take it any more - people marching in to their first appointment demanding I write them letters saying they cannot work due to MH without even being assessed. And they were always the ones who did not engage with any treatment, had endless excuses about why they had not done any of the treatment plan and got really pissed off if you would not just go along with them. They give the people with genuine problems a bad rep.

The other growing group are the people who think normal feelings and reactions are pathological and they should not have to have them. Everyone has anxiety, low mood or does not want to do things at times - increasing numbers of people find any kind of discomfort or distress intolerable and 'proof' that they are ill. Again, not talking about ND, or people whose MH is generally poor.

The country is almost broke but basically a Labour Government cannot fix it because of ideology and the difficult decisions that need to actually be made conflict with that ideology, and she knows it.

When we start with “I think” it indicates we are offering an opinion and I am as entitled to mine as the next person.
No, not because she shed a few tears - because I think she is a good person doing a difficult job. (Again, for clarity, that’s an opinion.)

NI policy has impacted growth and tax receipts, and SMEs. Have a look at articles on it.

U turns show incompetence but also they now have a funding issue.

I think it is possible to separate the two and feel both.

One might have expected Rayner would at least have glanced at Reeves, particularly knowing the cameras would be on them all.

This. I feel sorry for Reeves as I would for anyone clearly upset, but I feel for those who have suffered tremendous stress as a result of her policies more.

I have every sympathy for Rachel Reeves.

I have utter contempt for Kemi Badenoch and the way she spoke today.
I mean, I didn't think my contempt for her could be more than it was before I saw the news, but she has managed to sink to a new low.

In what way is the NI policy a mess? U turning isn’t really a mess it’s just listening to opinions . They are trying to get through cuts but just look at the fury over winter fuel. I don’t have the answers I’m afraid but I recognize it’s a difficult job.

I completely agree. Politics is very rough. I assume that she has had a very rough time lately. And she has lost nearly everything and earned the contempt of a lot of her colleagues. That is something most of us are lucky never to experience

Yet Trump doesn’t seem to age. He looks older than he did in 2016 obviously, but only due to the normal advances of time, not pressure.

I meant the poster re Badenoch. But yes Reeves can’t cry and impact markets.

Starmer doesn’t answer a single question. It’s just sneering and jeering in return every week. Pointless.

There's always been vitriol in politics! You need a thick skin to have that job. And you need to understand that it's not just you that is impacted by displaying those emotions - whatever they may be - it's other people's lives. Specifically the immediate impact was to send the pound falling and the markets to wobble. Which impacts a vast number of people. It would be like a lawyer crying in court: it would negatively impact their client! And in this case the client is all of us. If she couldn't control her emotions she should have stayed out of the commons until she could.

NI policy is the biggest. Some other stuff they’ve u turned on due to pressure showing incompetence.

The cuts they can’t get through are linked to lower growth and receipts.

To be fair I did wonder why she came into the chamber if she was so overcome.

What mess exactly?

We don’t really know why she was crying tbh. Could be a mixture of personal reasons and what went on in the HoC, in particular LH having a go at her.

Maybe politicians should stop being shits to each other and conducting themselves with more decorum- less of this “barrack room” style, less aggression and more constructive debate.

And I’m not just blaming the men - none of the questions asked by Badenoch at PMQs took us anywhere - and she was the one who called attention to RR “looking miserable”.

Charles Kennedy years ago was trying to introduce a more professional style of debate and of conducting politics in general, but unfortunately his own demons overtook him.

Well said 👏

Normally I'd say it's none of our business. But when the result of her appearing is for the markets to get rocked and the pound/bonds to be negatively impacted then it very much is our business. If she couldn't keep her personal issues out of the Commons then she shouldn't have been on the floor of the house until she could control her emotions.

Edit

I think she was more worried that her vile colleagues would have ‘gone for her’….

So much vitriol.