to believe Rachel Reeves was crying because

[LargeDeviation]

1. she was upset when Lindsay Hoyle told her to keep her answers short

2. she had an argument with Keir Starmer (possibly about her keeping her job, or about how to handle the inevitable questions about the new £5.5bn per annum black hole) just before PMQs

3. Keir Starmer refused to say she would keep her job in front of the whole country. If he genuinely wanted her to stay, he would just say 'of course she's going to still be Chancellor' and that would be that.

4. she is under immense pressure because she knows she will have soon to breach her fiscal rules, she knows she is responsible for many of the decisions that will lead to that, and she knows the how serious the consequences of her failure will be. We have seen recently (even just today) how vicious the bond market can be.

In short, I believe she was crying because of professional pressures (understandable ones, though largely of her own making, and about which I have little sympathy) and not nebulous 'personal' reasons.

If her parent or partner or child or grandparent or pet is ill the natural thing is to just say 'sorry, a close relative is in hospital and my emotions got the better of me'. Everybody would understand. You don't need huge reams of evidence but you need to give the bare bones of an explanation. She is trying to style it out but we can all see through it.

I will apologise if I'm wrong but long experience shows that 'personal reasons' almost always means 'I'm skiving or jobhunting' when a colleague in the workplace uses it to excuse their time off.

I believe it means even less when uttered by a politican.

She said she has a personal issue. It's non of our business.
Hasn't everyone has a bad day at work from time to time?

If it’s personal then don’t speculate.

i don’t like the woman’s policies but she looked absolutely broken today I almost didn’t recognise her

she has been made a scapegoat for this crap labour government and don’t get me started on the misogynistic and insulating “Rachel from accounts” comments which sought to pull her down the minute she got into office

Could be anything. On a human level, it's horrible to see. The misogyny on social media is awful. She's likely going through menopausal and it's hard not to get emotional sometimes.

We don't know what's happened. Could be illness of someone close or bereavement or martial issues or maybe it is the job, or combination of the above. Who knows. I've cried at work during menopause and it's mortifying.

I don't especially like or respect her but I don't want to give anyone a hard time for being a human being.

There's a really weird moment where Kemi asks if Rachel Reeves will still be in place at the next election, as Keir previously said she would. And Keir points a bit at Kemi - very hard to see - and says "She certainly won't". I think he was talking about Kemi, but it's a weird Freudian slip.

It's from 11:10 here, on the Parliament official YouTube channel:

I don't care why she was crying. She got emotional, like normal human beings do.

She wasn't lying to us (boris), she wasn't sleeping (mogg), she wasn't looking at porn (parish), she didn't have a temper tantrum (multiple).

There are way more concerning things for me to worry about right now. Why is this on AIBU??

Whatever the truth, she does look shocking. The eyebags look like someone who has not slept more than a couple of hours for weeks.

I genuinely have no idea why people aspire to hold these important positions in politics. By the time it's all over, they all look a shell of their former selves, thoroughly worn out and broken down. Who wants to put themselves through that?!

Yanbu. Her fiscal plan is in shreds because her policy has not been accepted by the Labour back benchers. She can't raise income tax or vat without breaking her promises, she can't borrow to fund everyday spending without breaking her own rules. She has nowhere to turn and knows it. She has failed.

This is what happens when someone claims to have skills and experience which they do not have. She played her cards and lost.

The real issue is who to replace her with. It's a pretty short list of possibilities. Whoever, they should raise income tax for everybody, acknowledge that we're in a jam and a short period of higher taxation is necessary, and get on with it.

God I would be mortified if anyone saw me crying at work, let alone the whole country. I definitely don't agree with all her policies, but I think there have been some extraordinarily unpleasant and personal comments made about her over the last day. I think she deserves a little privacy and dignity, the same as I'd give anyone else having an emotional moment at work.

Because the person in charge of the finances of UK plc being seen openly weeping during the PM's questions hardly says "steady as she goes, safe pair of hands" to the money markets. It says "in a blue funk". She's supposed to be a seasoned professional. She clearly isn't.

I've seen far worse in the commons. So you think lying is professional?

You don't even know her reasons. I've seen a grown man cry at work, he was one of the most professional men I've ever known.

This 👏

She isn't under any more pressure than any other chancellor before her.

Couldn’t agree more. I felt very uncomfortable watching it especially when the Kemi Badenoche (sp?) was jeering at her. Horrible.

Standard procedure when someone has a serious personal issue is that they don’t appear in the House and the Opposition is briefed as to the reason (and therefore doesn’t mention it).

@Muffsies or play candy crush. .... Looking at you Nigel mills!!

Exactly this.

Personal = none of your business

It's a personal reaction that the leader of the opposition Badenoch made political and as Leader of the Opposition, she should apologise. But Badenoch won't.

Alert to lots of men on this thread (and they're not even hiding it)

I see she is the same age as me, I’ve cried at work before (although admittedly in the toilets) due to the following:

Teenager misbehaving, playing truant and trying to cope with the stress.

Having hormonal issues.

Horrible, bullying behaviour by a male colleague.

Maybe it is a reason like this!! It makes politicians more relatable.

This, absolutely.

She's been in an impossible position from the start, as has Starmer tbf. The whole thing is a shit show, but at least this is a government trying to govern, rather than a Boris wank-fest, a Truss spinning eyed loon show, or Rishi Make Me Richer and Shove Me In A Helicopter again mayhem.

More grown up.

All the politicians seem inadequate and lightweight now. Don't know who on earth might replace her. All of them are out of their depth at a time when it's crucial we start to address the serious issues going on in the country.

And anyone shouting "Reform!" is in for a shock. They're either resigning or messing things up in their local government posts. Hopeless. It'll be the equivalent of Year 12s running the place.

RRs should never have been given the job. Holding an economics degree gives you no more ability to run the economy than a human biology degree means you can work as a physician or surgeon. If this is the calibre of people we have now, then the country is fkd and we'd better prepare for collapse into barbarism.

It’s really depressing how much politicians and ministers get hounded and attacked. Imagine if we lived in a world where people were able to debate policy without descending into these personal attacks. I think a lot of misogyny is at play here.