UK's Reeves says she is getting on with her 'tough' job

LONDON (Reuters) -British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Thursday that her job was difficult, but it remained her dream role and one she was determined to continue doing.

Reeves was speaking a day after she appeared in tears in parliament, sparking fears about her future in the job and triggering a market selloff.

"Is this job easy? Is it easy to turn around the economy? No, it's not. It is tough, but I'm getting on with that job," Reeves told reporters.

"During the course of this parliament, I'm determined to do more."

Reeves' tearful appearance came after a bruising week for the government when it was forced to abandon key planks of planned welfare reforms, which blew a hole in her budget plans and threatened to undermine her fiscal rules.

Starmer has given his full support to Reeves and the two appeared together at the launch of a healthcare policy on Thursday.

"Clearly I was upset yesterday and everyone could see that. It was a personal issue and I'm not going to go into the details," Reeves added.

"I guess the thing that maybe is a bit different between my job and many of your viewers, is that when I'm having a tough day, it's on the telly (TV), and most people don't have to deal with that."

Asked if she could reassure people that she was still up for the job, she said: "I totally am. This is the job that I've always wanted to do. I'm proud of what I've delivered as Chancellor (finance minister)."

(Reporting by William James, Muvija M and Alistair Smout; writing by Muvija M; Editing by Kate Holton)