Exclusive survey reveals 46% of party faithful want Reeves replaced in Cabinet reshuffle as welfare reforms spark massive rebellion with over 120 MPs in revolt – but Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband emerge as most popular ministers
Rachel Reeves is under mounting pressure to be sacked as Chancellor after a damning poll revealed almost half of Labour Party members want her out in any Cabinet reshuffle.
The exclusive LabourList survey showed a staggering 46 per cent of party members believe Reeves should be replaced if Keir Starmer shakes up his top team – making her the most unpopular Cabinet minister among the Labour faithful.
Hot on her heels is Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, with 42 per cent calling for her head as she faces a massive rebellion over controversial welfare reforms that could see 800,000 disabled people lose benefits.
The devastating poll comes as the government faces its biggest crisis yet, with more than 120 Labour MPs signing a “reasoned amendment” to block Kendall’s welfare bill – enough to defeat the government if opposition parties join them.
Chancellor’s popularity in freefall
The survey of 1,304 Labour members paints a brutal picture for Reeves, whose popularity has plummeted since taking charge of the nation’s finances.
An earlier poll showed her favourability crashed by almost 30 percentage points after her Spring Statement, falling from -11 to a catastrophic -41 – the worst decline of any Cabinet member.
One party source said they weren’t surprised by the results, explaining: “Rachel Reeves has been behind winter fuel cuts, she’s behind the welfare reforms, and she’s constantly talking about tough choices while ordinary people suffer.
The Chancellor has faced criticism from all sides after U-turning on winter fuel payments following a backlash, and now faces another climbdown on welfare reforms after massive internal pressure.
Kendall’s welfare war sparks rebellion
Liz Kendall’s position looks equally precarious as she battles to save her flagship welfare reforms amid the biggest Labour rebellion of Starmer’s premiership.
The government has said it will save £5bn from the controversial changes to the welfare system, including tightening eligibility for personal independence payments and consulting on removing the health topup part of universal credit for under-22s.
But the reforms have sparked fury across the party, with 108 of them have gone public by signing an amendment to block the bill entirely.
It emerged overnight the government will row back on part of its plans, with Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall saying all current personal independence payment (PIP) claimants will continue to receive their current benefits – and changes to only affect future claimants.
One source close to the situation said: “She’s shouldered not only welfare reform but also winter fuel cuts and WASPI changes. No wonder members want her gone.”
The rebellion spreads
The scale of the revolt has shocked Westminster, with rebels spanning all wings of the party – from usual suspects on the left to moderate new MPs elected just last year.
Brian Leishman, the newly-elected MP for Grangemouth and Alloa, delivered a devastating verdict: “I joined the Labour party because I believe in a socially just society… these welfare reforms are the complete opposite of that.”
He revealed he was “in tears” after voting for winter fuel cuts last year and vowed: “I don’t want to find myself in that position again; forced to vote against my conscience.”
Another Labour MP was even more scathing, with one critic of Liz Kendall is said to have privately compared her to a “crap council cabinet member”.
Most popular ministers revealed
In stark contrast to Reeves and Kendall’s woes, the poll revealed deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband as the most popular Cabinet members.
Rayner saw only 4 per cent of members calling for her removal – a ringing endorsement of her performance as Starmer’s deputy.
Ed Miliband continues to top favourability ratings, maintaining his position as the Cabinet’s most liked member with minimal decline in support even as others crashed around him.
In a positive sign for the government, none of the figures we asked about had a majority of supporters calling for them to face the chop. Most of the cabinet had fewer than three in 10 members saying they should be replaced.
Government in crisis mode
The findings have sent shockwaves through Downing Street, with sources revealing frantic efforts to prevent a humiliating Commons defeat next week.
There was a perfectly progressive way to drive this reform, but banging it while we’re trying to fix a Budget problem and turning into a macho test of ‘toughness’ has truly turned peoples’ stomachs”, one Labour MP told LabourList.
The government is now desperately trying to contain the damage, with a Number 10 spokesperson saying they had “listened to MPs” in making the U-turn on existing PIP claimants.
But critics say the damage is already done, with one MP warning: “We lost the narrative early and the look isn’t a good one.”
Starmer’s authority on the line
The crisis risks severe damage to Keir Starmer’s authority, with his own approval ratings stuck in negative territory at -7 per cent among party members.
Tom Belger, editor of LabourList, warned: “The drop in approval ratings should be ringing alarm bells around the cabinet table. It won’t make for pleasant reading for many in the Labour fold.”
Damian Lyons Lowe, chief executive of pollster Survation, was equally blunt: “This sharp drop in net favourability for senior Labour figures – including Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer – suggests real unease among party members about both the Spring Statement’s content and its political strategy.
Cabinet unity crumbles
Despite claims from one Cabinet member that ministers were “united” over reducing the welfare bill, the reality appears very different.
Most of the Cabinet turned out in force for Kendall’s welfare announcement – including Ed Miliband, Wes Streeting, Bridget Phillipson, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves herself – in what many saw as a show of forced solidarity.
But behind closed doors, sources report “serious, well informed and deep concerns” from all corners of the Parliamentary Labour Party during Number 10’s crisis meetings with MPs.
The Scottish warning
Adding to the government’s woes, a senior Scottish Labour figure has explicitly called for Starmer to trigger a reshuffle and “reset” his government.
If we were told that Rachel Reeves was coming to the by-election, I think we’d be very concerned”, they said, adding: “The biggest problem seems to be Morgan McSweeney and Rachel.
They warned that voters feel “this government is not what they expect a Labour government to be like” – a damning indictment less than a year into Starmer’s premiership.
What happens next?
With the welfare reform vote looming and rebellion numbers growing by the day, all eyes are on whether Starmer will bow to pressure for a reshuffle.
The PM faces an impossible choice: stick with embattled ministers and risk further rebellions, or conduct a major clear-out that would be seen as panic and weakness.
One thing is certain – with nearly half the party membership wanting his Chancellor gone and over 100 MPs in open revolt, Starmer’s honeymoon is well and truly over.
As one Labour source put it: “This feels like a government in crisis less than a year after winning a landslide. Something has to give.”
The poll was conducted by Survation for LabourList between May 30 and June 1, surveying 1,304 Labour Party members.
Image credit: Photo by Zara Ferrar / 10 Downing Street, taken on 29 July 2024 at HM Treasury during Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s press conference on the “Fixing the Foundations” statement. Licensed under the United Kingdom Open Government Licence v3.0.
Image page: View on Wikimedia Commons – “Reeves speech 29 July 2024.jpg”
