Pat McFadden, the bookies’ favourite to take over from the under-pressure Chancellor, said his colleague should be in place for ‘a long time to come’
Rachel Reeves is under pressure(Image: Getty Images)
A government minister tipped as the favourite to replace the under-pressure Chancellor of the Exchequer has told the ECHO he hopes Rachel Reeves will be in position ‘for a long time to come.’
Senior cabinet member Pat McFadden was in Liverpool today and spoke about the pressure that has been growing on Ms Reeves following a turbulent period for the UK economy thanks to spiralling borrowing costs and a lack of the economic growth that her government has promised.
Today Sir Keir Starmer defended his Chancellor at Prime Minister’s Questions, stating that she will be in place for ‘many years to come’ after questioning from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
This was a thought shared today by Mr McFadden, who has been named as the favourite to replace the finance chief if she were indeed to leave her role.
Asked by the ECHO if it is a job he would covet, Mr McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “Honestly Rachel Reeves is a friend, a colleague, she is the right person for the job. She is the Chancellor for a good reason and I believe and hope she will be the Chancellor for a long time to come.”
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden (Image: PA)
Speaking more widely about the economic woes of the nation, he added: “The market movements we have seen in recent weeks are almost entirely driven by what we have seen in the United States and by speculation about the impact on the new American Presidency. I think people, when they look at the way the bond yields have moved in the UK and US will see that.
“We’ve made it very clear that we have a set of fiscal rules and the Chancellor will stick to those. We have had too much economic instability in Britain in recent years, so that stability that was put in place in the budget is a really important platform. What we now have to do is go and get the investment and the economic growth that will make the country better off.”