Labour insiders believe Sir Keir Starmer’s No 10 reshuffle is an attempt to seize control over a make-or-break Budget this autumn amid concerns about Rachel Reeves’s performance.

Her ex-deputy at the Treasury, Darren Jones, has been appointed to a key new role as Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister. Starmer’s Monday reshuffle also saw the hiring of two major economic brains to senior roles in Downing Street.

With an unpopular Chancellor preparing for a difficult Budget in which she is expected to raise taxes, and Starmer and Labour flagging badly in polls and losing ground to Reform, some inside the party believe the PM is moving to avoid autumn’s fiscal statement making things worse.

‘No 10’s frustration with Chancellor’

While senior No 10 and Treasury sources insist that Star

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