Who Is Rachel Reeves? First Woman To Take Charge Of UK's Economy

London: Keir Starmer became the UK's new prime minister on Friday after the Labour Party registered a landslide victory in the elections. The Labour Party secured 412 seats in the 650-member House of Commons. After Starmer became the UK PM, Rachel Reeves was appointed as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer or finance minister. Reeves became the first woman to be appointed to the post. She is a key figure in the Labour Party. She joined the party as a teenager. Who is Rachel Reeves? Reeves, born on February 13, 1979, was educated at the comprehensive Cator Park School for Girls in Beckenham. She studied philosophy, politics and economics at New College, Oxford (Bachelor of Arts). Reeves pursued an M.Sc in economics from the London School of Economics. Her first job was with the Bank of England.Her political career started in 2005 when she contested the general elections as the Labour Party candidate in the Conservative safe seat of Bromley and Chislehurst. However, Reeves came in the second spot after he sitting Conservative Party MP Eric Forth. After Forth's death, Reeves contested the 2006 by-elections but finished in the fourth place. In the 2010 elections, she sought nomination for the Leeds West seat. She won the polls. She was re-elected at the 2015 general election. After Jeremy Corbyn's election as leader in 2015, Reeves supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election. She was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election. She managed to retain her seat in the 2019 polls also.Also Read: Keir Starmer Appointed UK PM, Notes Rishi Sunak's Achievement As First British-Asian PM After Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020, she was appointed as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. moved into the role of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in a shadow cabinet reshuffle in ay 2021. "Since 2010, economic policymaking has been characterized by two major failings. First austerity, then instability. Austerity: the decision, in the context of historically low interest rates and slack in the economy, to sharply tighten fiscal policy,” she said as reported by CNN.After becoming the UK's Finance minister, Reeves, in her X post said, "It is the honour of my life to have been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. Economic growth was the Labour Party’s mission. It is now a national mission. Let’s get to work."Starmer Elected as the UK PM:Starmer became the UK's new prime minister on Friday. He vowed to rebuild Britain, hours after his Labour Party secured a landslide victory in a general election. Starmer, 61, assumed charge as the 58th prime minister after his customary audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. The Labour Party secured 412 seats. In the 2019 polls, Starmer's party had won 211 seats. Sunak's Conservatives won just 121 seats, down 250 seats from the previous polls.