Rachel Reeves political comeback, Digi Mart USA News (United Kingdom): Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly planning a political comeback, according to insiders who spoke to The i Paper. Her recent interventions on the economy and the European Union are seen as signs that she still hopes to return to the Cabinet.
Allies of the Prime Minister are understood to have told Reeves that there is a way back into government if she wants it, although there are no current plans for a reshuffle. Unlike former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who resigned as an MP, Reeves has remained in Parliament and has stayed publicly loyal to the new government.
One source said Reeves had been “genuinely heartbroken” to leave government. The source added that she “still thinks she is young enough to make a big contribution” and believes she has “another big job in her.”
Reeves first re-emerged last month when she drew applause with a pointed question to Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman after a lecture at Oxford University. She said that in the last two years, which coincided with her time as Chancellor of the Exchequer, productivity had rebounded to pre-financial crisis levels.
Reeves also defended her record in a speech at Harvard University, her first since leaving the Treasury. “In my two Budgets, I raised taxes to build a stronger fiscal buffer and to invest in public services,” she said.
“There was no way to raise revenue on the scale required which would be free of pain.”
Some observers have revised their views of Reeves since her departure from the Treasury. Despite months of criticism over her stewardship of the economy, growth has proved more resilient than expected, with the Office for Budget Responsibility upgrading its 2026 forecast to 1.2 per cent.
Healey paid tribute to his predecessor in last week’s Budget, praising her fiscal discipline, efforts to boost investment, and work on NHS waiting lists and child poverty.
Reeves also made a significant intervention in the rekindled Brexit debate, backing the Prime Minister. Writing in the Sunday Times, she said: “There is a debate to be had about our future relationship with Europe, and I welcome Andy Burnham’s leadership in facing up to this.” She added: “No one in the Treasury ever doubted where my instincts were.
I do believe Britain’s future lies in the European Union.”
A Labour insider said of this: “I am assuming this is her route back in the reshuffle. They will have been talking to her.” Reeves’s path back to the top table is also thought to have been made easier by the appointment of Ben Nunn, her former chief of staff and a close ally of Starmer, as Burnham’s EU adviser in Number 10.
A Whitehall source described the appointment as “really good news.”
Reeves had previously enjoyed a close relationship with Burnham and had been in discussions with his team about taking on another big job in government. She was eventually offered a lesser role, understood to be education secretary, and decided to leave government when Burnham appointed his top team in July.
Analysts suggest that a return to the Cabinet would most likely be as home or foreign secretary, while a return to the Treasury is considered feasible but would raise questions about why she was replaced. An advisory role, similar to that held by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, is also considered possible, particularly if plans to rejoin the EU advance.
Any return is likely to prove controversial. Critics recall that she was an unpopular Chancellor and was blamed, along with Starmer, for Labour’s poor polling before Burnham took over.
She also faced controversy for accepting freebies in the early days of the Labour government and for questions over her banking experience on her CV.
Weeks ago, there was speculation that Reeves could quit Parliament altogether, with The Mail on Sunday reporting suggestions at Westminster that she might follow Starmer’s example and resign her Commons seat. The newspaper also reported that Reeves and Nunn had met two City firms to discuss the political advice they could offer, amid speculation about a move into private consultancy.
The discussions reportedly involved Nunn’s newly established political advisory company, Arlington Road Consultants, incorporated on September 27, of which Nunn is listed as director. The firm was set up to operate in the public relations and communications sector.
The Mail on Sunday reported that the meetings took place in the fortnight before the Budget and that the chief executives involved had met Reeves several times during her time as Chancellor.
The revelations prompted Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake to write to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, calling for the meetings to be investigated. The rules in question are designed to prevent former ministers and special advisers from using privileged government information and contacts for private commercial benefit.
Both Reeves and Nunn are subject to a two-year ban on lobbying government.
