𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Sir Keir Starmer appears to have had enough of Rachel Reeves. He delivered a public snub by failing to invite her on his three-day China trip, despite using it to drum up business and parade Britain’s economic ambitions. Insiders say she was “spitting feathers” at being left behind and now fears for her job.

It seems the PM has finally lost patience with our misfiring Chancellor. Most Express readers will have the same response: what took him so long? Most will spotted her shortcomings within weeks of the 2024 election. Reeves was caught fiddling her CV and hoovering up freebies, while deciding that scrapping the winter fuel payment was actually a good idea.

Then came her maiden Budget, when she trashed Labour’s manifesto tax pledges to hammer us with £40billion of hikes, including a ‘jobs tax’ that’s helped send unemployment soaring.

She followed that last November by delivering the most chaotic Budget in modern times. Starmer isn’t quick on the uptake, but even he clocked something is badly wrong.

Reeves may still be in post, but she’s now a lame duck. Unfortunately, the line of succession is grim.

The bookmakers’ favourite is Pat McFadden, currently Work and Pensions Secretary. He was the man sent out to front yesterday’s bombshell decision to break Labour’s pre-election promise to compensate Waspi women, a move campaigners called disgraceful.

McFadden ran Labour’s election campaign and remains one of Starmer’s most trusted lieutenants. Given that the party’s campaign was built on a pack of false promises and outright lies, that’s hardly a ringing endorsement.

Still, McFadden isn’t the one who really worries me. That would be the man creeping up behind him in the betting.

I’ve written about him before. In December, I called him a potty-mouthed tax addict with pensioners firmly in his sights.

That wasn’t colourful exaggeration on my part. It came from reports of his behaviour during last year’s pre-Budget meetings, where this “pumped-up” pipsqueak swore, wailed and ranted, shouting over anyone who tried to speak, no matter how senior.

According to the left-wing Observer newspaper, “speaking fast and furiously, Bell embarked on a foul-mouthed tirade… It was ‘fck this, fck that, we’ve got to fck them all and then we’ve got to fck them some more’.”

Bell has kept his head down since, and with luck washed his mouth out. But yesterday he resurfaced in Parliament, sitting right beside McFadden as the Waspi decision was announced. And what did he do? Yawned.

The Waspi women noticed. Their spokesman said: “Torsten Bell’s yawning moment is yet more evidence of the bored contempt with which ministers view the harm caused to millions.”

It was hard to miss. Screamingly performative. And contempt is exactly the word.

Fresh-faced but foul-mouthed, Bell has form here. He believes pensioners have it too easy, while younger generations pick up the bill. His answer is to tax the older generation relentlessly.

Before entering Parliament, he spent a decade at think tank the Resolution Foundation dreaming up new ways to hike taxes on pensions, inheritances, capital gains, savings, ISAs, housing, cars, farmers, just about everything going. He drew up a staggering 20 tax demands in total. Reeves has steadily been ticking them off.

Naturally, Bell has previously called to scrap the state pension triple lock too, calling it “silly”. Although I bet he uses other words in private.

If Reeves goes, McFadden suddenly looks like the least bad option. Because if Torsten Bell ever gets his hands on the Treasury, pensioners will be the ones cursing.