Keir Starmer marks one-year milestone as UK PM amid turmoil, Chancellor in tears

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday addressed an extraordinary House of Commons session with his Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, seen fighting tears behind him as he defended his government's efforts to manage the country's mounting social welfare benefits bill.

Starmer, who is marking one year as UK PM this week since his Labour government was elected in the July 4 general election last year, had narrowly averted a rebellion within his own ranks after offering a last-minute concession to win a parliamentary vote on welfare reforms on Tuesday night.

It led Opposition Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch to use the Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) session in the Commons on Wednesday to pile on the pressure as she dubbed Reeves as a "human shield" forced to bear the brunt of the financial pressure of the government's concession to Labour rebels.

"This man (Starmer) has forgotten that his welfare bill was there to plug a black hole created by the Chancellor. Instead they're creating new ones," said Badenoch.

Then turning to Reeves seated next to the Prime Minister on the front bench, the Opposition Leader leader described her as looking "absolutely miserable".

"Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the Chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really," she asked.

While Starmer refused to answer the question directly in Parliament, his Downing Street spokesperson later told reporters that the Prime Minister fully backed his finance minister.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Chancellor claimed Reeves was seen teary due to a "personal matter".

The dramatic Commons display only served to further fan speculation around Starmer's leadership prospects and his Chancellor's future one year since taking charge at No. 10 and 11 Downing Street.

On Tuesday night, there was a momentary sense of relief as a much diluted Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, aimed at saving the Treasury GBP 5 billion, was backed by a majority of 75 in a tense vote.

However, with as many as 49 Labour MPs voting against the government's bill, it also marked one of the biggest challenges to a British Prime Minister in their very first year in office.

Having forced Starmer into multiple concessions, the bill in the end left all sides of the House questioning how the funds to make up the shortfall would be found.

The government has resorted the standard line that all spending plans will be laid out in the next fiscal event or budget statement, But this hasn't helped calm the turmoil in Westminster, triggering a surge in the odds on Starmer facing a serious leadership challenge in the week he would have liked to celebrate his one-year anniversary as PM.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)