Rachel Reeves will stay on as chancellor for the whole of this parliament, Downing Street has clarified after the prime minister refused to guarantee her future.
Earlier on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer said he had “full confidence” in his colleague, but would not be drawn on whether she would stay in post until the next general election.
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His official spokesperson has now said the pair will work together “throughout the whole of this parliament”.
Pressed if that meant working together with Ms Reeves as chancellor, the spokesman replied: “Yes.”
He said: “The PM was explicit this morning. The chancellor is doing a fantastic job and will work throughout the whole of this parliament in delivering for working people, and has [the PM’s] full confidence.”
Ms Reeves is under pressure after the cost of long-term borrowing rose to its highest level in decades while the value of the pound has slumped.
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After delivering a speech on AI this morning, Sir Keir was asked twice if she will remain in Number 11 for the duration of this parliament and did not explicitly answer.
He said: “Rachel Reeves is doing a fantastic job. She has my full confidence. She has the full confidence of the entire party.”
Referring to the October budget, in which she announced tax hikes and spending cuts, Sir Keir said she was “right” to take tough decisions, accusing the Tories of leaving behind a £20bn black hole.
Prime ministers are often reluctant to give guarantees about the futures of individual Cabinet members as they need to have flexibility to respond to events and reshuffle their team.
But Downing Street has previously indicated that Foreign Secretary David Lammy would serve for the duration of the parliament,
