The position of Rachel Reeves, Britain’s most senior finance official, was the subject of growing speculation on Wednesday after she appeared visibly upset in Parliament as Prime Minister Keir Starmer declined to guarantee that she would keep her job. Mr. Starmer had previously committed to keeping Ms. Reeves in her role as chancellor of the Exchequer until the next general election, but when he was asked on Wednesday by Kemi Badenoch, leader of the opposition, to repeat that pledge, he avoided the question. However later on Wednesday, the prime minister’s office expressed support for Ms. Reeves, saying that she was “going nowhere.”Ms. Reeves became chancellor last year amid high expectations. She was the first woman to hold the position among Britain’s great offices of state. She emphasized her credentials from previously working at the Bank of England and vowed to restore fiscal credibility to Britain after it was shaken by the tax and spending plans of the former prime minister Liz Truss.
