MPs raise questions about Rachel Reeves' CV

Chancellor Rachel Reeves's CV came under the spotlight at Prime Minister's Questions, following claims she had embellished some of her past achievements.

Reeves has previously said she worked as an economist at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) before entering politics.

However, her profile on the networking site LinkedIn has been changed to say the role at HBOS was in retail banking.

Reeves worked as an economist for the Bank of England before joining HBOS and in a 2011 interview with the Independent she is described as working for HBOS's retail division.

In the same year, the biography on her Labour web page said: "Rachel spent her professional career as an economist working for the Bank of England, the British Embassy in Washington and at Halifax Bank of Scotland."

Tory MPs Graham Stuart and Alex Burghart - who was standing in for opposition leader Kemi Badenoch at the weekly Commons session - and Reform UK's Lee Anderson all made reference to the row when putting questions to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.

Rayner was standing in for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who is in Brazil for a G20 summit meeting of the world's richest countries.

Burghart raised a laugh on the Tory benches with a jibe about "real economists", as he accused the government of "stoking" inflation.

"This morning we had City economists, real economists, saying that next year inflation would hit 3%," he told MPs.

Later in the session, Anderson, asking about changes to inheritance tax for farmers, said: "Does the deputy prime minister agree with me that this decision should be thrown in the trash can along with Rachel from accounts' CV?"

Rayner deflected the question with a joke about Anderson's own career.

"He talks about CVs, it's good to see [Anderson] doing well on his - once a Labour councillor then a Tory MP and now Reform chief whip," she said.

"Every time he switches party, he gets a promotion."

A few minutes later, Conservative Graham Stuart said all MPs "recognise the authenticity" of Rayner's back story including her time working as a carer.

Stuart then referenced recent cases where people had got into trouble for lying about their experience and achievements.

In June, Nick Adderly, the chief constable of Northamptonshire Police was sacked for exaggerating his naval rank and length of service.

And last month, a woman was jailed for five years after lying about her experience and qualifications to get a job as a senior nurse in a unit for sick and premature babies.

Stuart asked if Rayner agreed that "serious consequences are right and just in such cases".

"I know where he is trying to go with this," replied Rayner before going on to defend Reeves.

"Our chancellor in the last four months has shown more competence than the last four chancellors he had," she said.

The questions continued after PMQs, as reporters sought to put the prime minister's official spokeswoman on the spot.

Asked if Sir Keir expected ministers to tell the truth on their CVs, she said the row “relates to the chancellor’s time before she was the chancellor”.

But she added: “The prime minister is very clear that what is most important is having a chancellor who is able to balance the books and who is able to be straight with the public and restore the public finances.”

And that was what Reeves had done, she told reporters.

Asked if the PM was committed to Reeves remaining chancellor for the rest of the Parliament, she said: “It’s never for me in my position to speak to cabinet appointments, but the chancellor very much remains the chancellor.”

Reeves has often sought to underline her economic credentials by pointing to the roles she held before becoming an MP.

However, the chancellor is facing claims that her role at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) had more to do with administration and IT than economics.

Reeves studied philosophy, politics and economics Oxford University and did a master's degree in economics at the London School of Economics.