【Text by Observers Network, Yuan Jiaqi】

"This is the most expensive tears in history." When it came to the emotional outburst of British Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons, which triggered a decline in stocks, bonds, and currency, a Conservative Party MP told the Financial Times this way.

The incident originated from the sudden 180-degree turnaround of the UK Labour government led by Starmer on major welfare spending cuts, dramatically canceling a public financial stimulus plan worth billions of pounds. According to a report by the Financial Times on February 2nd, this created a 5 billion pound gap in Rishi Sunak's public finance plan, leading to speculation about his "job security".

During the Prime Minister's Question Time on Wednesday, when asked by a Conservative MP whether he would guarantee that Rishi Sunak would remain in office until the next general election in 2029, Starmer refused to make a public commitment in the House of Commons, without clearly expressing support for Rishi Sunak.

Throughout the half-hour meeting, Rishi Sunak, sitting beside Starmer, frequently wiped away tears, with visible tear stains on his face.

Screen capture from the parliamentary session

The BBC reported that this "unusual" scene in the House of Commons quickly sparked concerns in the financial markets, causing a "triple hit" to UK stocks, bonds, and currencies.

英镑价值暴跌首当其冲。英镑对美元下跌0.9%，结束了英镑兑美元走强的势头。英镑对欧元也下跌0.7%。

英国国债价格也随之暴跌：10年期国债收益率上升0.16个百分点至4.61%，创下2022年10月以来英国市场最大单日涨幅。彼时，英国金融市场因特拉斯政府的“迷你预算案”而引发抛售潮；长期债券也未能幸免，英国30年期国债收益率上涨约17个基点，同样为2022年秋季以来最大涨幅。

在借贷成本上升的担忧下，英国股市也全面下跌。综合美国消费者新闻与商业频道（CNBC）报道，当地时间2日，英国富时100指数下跌约0.1%，英国富时250指数下跌1.3%。而法国CAC40（+0.99%）和德国DAX（+0.49%）等其他欧洲主要股指当天均收涨。

Prime Minister's question time, UK 10-year Treasury yield rose. BBC map

Mike Riddell, a fund manager at Fidelity International, analyzed that investors are worried that if the Chancellor is replaced, the risk of "amending or abandoning the government's fiscal rules" will increase, "which means larger deficits and bond issuance."

Simon Blundell, Head of European Fundamental Fixed Income Investments at BlackRock, also pointed out that market changes indicate that "the uncertainty facing the government has increased." However, unlike the situation in 2022, when market volatility was exacerbated by the pension system turmoil, the current market is not as fragile as before.

According to a report by the Financial Times, Downing Street and Rishi Sunak's team have firmly denied any differences between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor.

Rishi Sunak's spokesperson responded that her emotional outburst was related to "private matters," and she continued to work normally at Downing Street that afternoon.

On Wednesday evening, during an interview with the BBC, Starmer also said that Rishi Sunak "has performed excellently as Chancellor" and will continue to hold the position for "a long time in the future," adding that he is "in step with her." He did not comment on Rishi Sunak's "personal affairs."

"There have been examples of Chancellors and Prime Ministers not being in sync in the past. I won't name them, but we are certainly not like that." He added.

Starmer also emphasized that Rishi Sunak's tears were "not related to politics" and had nothing to do with the reversal of welfare policies this week, and called the speculation linking it to politics "absolutely wrong."

After the Prime Minister's Question Time, the Prime Minister's press secretary quickly clarified the stance to reporters, emphasizing that Rishi Sunak received the Prime Minister's "full support," "she has not resigned, and she is not going anywhere."

When asked why Starmer did not explicitly express support for Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons, the press secretary explained, "He (the Prime Minister) has stated this multiple times. It's unnecessary to repeat it every time the opposition leader criticizes Labour politicians."

This article is an exclusive contribution by Observers Network. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7522723803554759194/

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