Rachel Reeves
| Rachel Reeves link Powerbase Sourcewatch Twitter Website (Politician, economist) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Rachel Jane Reeves 13 February 1979 Lewisham, London, England |
| Alma mater | New College (Oxford), London School of Economics |
| Children | 2 |
| Spouse | Nicholas Joicey |
| Party | Labour |
| Relatives | Ellie Reeves, John Cryer |
Rachel Reeves coined the term 'Securonomics'[1] | |
Rachel Reeves is a British Labour Party politician and an economist whom Keir Starmer appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer on 5 July 2024.[2]
On 30 July 2024, tax campaigner Richard Murphy posted on YouTube:
- "If Rachel Reeves wants to go down as one of the worst Chancellors in history, then she set about establishing her claim with yesterday’s ‘blame the Tories for things we all already knew’ speech.
- "When her ambition is to penalise pensioners but let the rich off tax increases, you know how badly she’s misjudged the mood of the country."[3]
Political career
Rachel Reeves has been the Member of Parliament for Leeds West since the 2010 General Election and had been tipped as a future Leader of the Labour Party.[4]
On 5 April 2020, the newly elected Labour leader Keir Starmer appointed Rachel Reeves Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office.
Following Labour's crushing defeat in the 2021 Hartlepool by-election Rachel Reeves was appointed Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer on 9 May 2021.[5]
Reeves was Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2013 but vowed not to return to the shadow cabinet after her maternity leave following Jeremy Corbyn's victory in the 2015 Labour leadership election. Reeves was also chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee from 2017 to 2020.[6]
Labour relations
Reeves' younger sister, Ellie, was a member of Labour's National Executive Committee and Joint Policy Committee until being voted off in August 2016, and is married to former Parliamentary Labour Party chair John Cryer, who was Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead until the UK/General election/2024.[7]
Ellie Reeves was elected MP for Lewisham West and Penge in the June 2017 General Election.[8]
Rachel Reeves is married to the Director General of the Cabinet Office's Economic and Domestic Secretariat, Nicholas Joicey, who previously worked as private secretary and speech writer to Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.[9]
CV problems
In February 2025, the BBC reported:
- Questions have been raised about the accuracy of the Chancellor's Linkedin online CV, and the use of expenses while working at a bank, in the wake of a BBC News investigation.
- At PMQs on 12 February 2025, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the investigation raised questions for the Chancellor:
- Badenoch posted on X:
- "Keir Starmer said: 'restoring trust in politics is the great test of our era'. Until she (Reeves) comes clean - not just about her CV but about the circumstances in which she left HBOS, no one will take him seriously."[10]
References
- ↑ "Rachel Reeves: ‘Securonomics’"
- ↑ "Here’s how Rachel Reeves could plug the black hole in Britain’s finances"
- ↑ "Rachel Reeves could not have done worse than this"
- ↑ "MP Tom Watson finds new love after break up of marriage"
- ↑ "Who is Rachel Reeves? Record and profile of Keir Starmer's new Shadow Chancellor"
- ↑ "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee"
- ↑ "Like Ed, we should all be friends of Israel"
- ↑ "Delighted to have been elected as the Member of Parliament for Lewisham West and Penge with a majority of 23,174"
- ↑ Document:Rachel Reeves needs to develop some decent ideas very quickly
- ↑ "Questions raised over Rachel Reeves's CV and expenses"