Chancellor Rachel Reeves has received unexpected support from Conservative politicians after she rebuked a foul-mouthed heckler during a broadcast interview in Leeds. The incident occurred as Reeves was answering questions at a petrol station, having announced the scrapping of a planned fuel duty rise.
The heckler, who appeared to be a Reform UK supporter, shouted from his van: “Get Keir Starmer fucking out.” As he drove off with St George’s flags flying, he continued yelling, “Get Labour out. Get Keir Starmer out. Nigel Farage, Come on, Nigel.” He also asked, “Am I going to get arrested? We’ve got English flags on here, Rachel. Are we going to be arrested? You’re ruining the country.”
Reeves responded: “I love our country, and one of the things about our country is good manners. Not very British.” She then joked that the man appeared not to have heard her announcement about freezing fuel duty. Shadow chancellor Mel Stride defended her comeback, telling Sky’s Sophy Ridge: “On the point of good manners, she is right ... our discourse around politics should be civil and polite and that’s part of being British and that’s something we should fight for.”
Tory peer Daniel Hannan also backed Reeves, saying: “I sense that this is out of temper with the times but, for once, I am on Rachel Reeves’s side. Civility matters in politics and if we stop policing the boundaries, things slide very quickly.” However, Reform UK politicians took a different view. Nigel Farage posted on X: “I’d like to buy this man a pint. Does anyone know how I can find him?” Robert Jenrick, Reform’s economics spokesperson, said: “He sounds British to me, Rachel! Good for him. This reaction explains why Reeves rarely leaves her bunker in Westminster.” Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, even offered the heckler a future peerage.
