the shadow of what was lost by james islington

Two years ago, Keir Starmer’s leadership appeared imperilled. In a joint New Statesman interview with her sister Ellie, a fellow Labour MP and shadow justice minister, Reeves said: “What I feel very strongly is that because we were constantly underestimated, we need to prove that two girls from state school in south London are just as good as any Eton or Winchester boy.” As Labour prepares for government, no one today should underestimate the influence of Rachel Reeves. The former British girls’ chess champion has the political hunger of someone with a point to prove. Her pledge, however, to spend £28bn a year on green investment (a larger annual figure than that promised by Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell) shows a vision beyond hair-shirt economics. Reeves’ relentless emphasis on fiscal discipline has led some MPs to accuse her of a lack of radicalism.

The shadow chancellor has met 400 chairmen and chief executives – many of them disillusioned with the Conservatives – and has the final say on which spending proposals become Labour policy. Our panel also cited Reeves’ pivotal role in two of the party’s defining missions: winning the confidence of business and achieving fiscal credibility. Her greater political experience (she was elected five years earlier than Starmer and has deep trade union links) gives her further stature. On these questions, Starmer, who doesn’t have an economic background, defers to Reeves. The economy and the living standards crisis are the defining political issues of our time. Though Starmer is senior in rank, we believe Reeves is the most influential person on the British left today. When the Labour leader reshuffled his shadow cabinet in May 2021, the Leeds West MP was duly rewarded with the post of shadow chancellor (succeeding Anneliese Dodds). Reeves also became one of Starmer’s most trusted political confidants. In her new post shadowing Michael Gove, she excoriated the government for its wasteful and cronyistic Covid-19 contracts and called for an end to the cult of outsourcing. Yet Reeves turned an apparent setback into an opportunity. Science and Technical Research and Development.Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities.

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The shadow of what was lost by james islington