Who would believe a few tears could shake a global market? But the sight of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves weeping behind Prime Minister Keir Starmer during question time on Wednesday in the UK not only stopped Londoners in their tracks, it triggered a bond market sell-off, knocked 1 per cent off the pound and wobbled the London Stock Exchange.
The cause of her tears remains unclear. While detractors assumed it had to do with a welfare policy bungle blowing a hole in her already fraught budget, her defenders said it was a personal matter. They could all agree, however, that it’s a hard day when you cry at the office – let alone on television for all the world to see.
