Rachel Reeves will remain chancellor until the next election, No.10 has finally confirmed.
Following a day of confusion, Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said she would stay in the role “for the whole of this parliament”.
It came after the prime minister twice refused to say whether Reeves - under pressure over the state of the economy - would still be in her job when the country next goes to the polls.
At a press conference in London on Monday morning, Starmer said: “Rachel Reeves is doing a fantastic job. She has my full confidence and has the full confidence of the entire party.”
But he failed to give a direct answer to questions about the chancellor’s long-term future.
It wasn’t until several hours later that the PM’s spokesman said: “He will be working with her in her role as chancellor for the whole of this Parliament to grow the economy and deliver for working people.”
In a further blow for Reeves, the interest rate paid by the government on its long-term debts went up again on Monday morning to hit a 27-year high.
That is a major problem for the chancellor as it leaves even less money to spend on the government’s priorities, leaving her with little option but to either put up taxes again or order more departmental spending cuts.
Starmer said the government will be “ruthless” when it comes to balancing the books.
He said: “We have got clear fiscal rules, and we are going to keep to those fiscal rules, and that’s why the chancellor was absolutely right in the words that she chose to describe the approach that we will take.”