Rachel Reeves became Britain’s first female chancellor of the Exchequer on Friday, taking on one of the country’s four great offices of state, with responsibility for managing Britain’s budget.
After a decade and a half of economic stagnation, Ms. Reeves, a Labour lawmaker with a reputation as a serious and steady manager, faces the tough jobs of boosting Britain’s productivity growth, a key measure of prosperity, and of reviving struggling public services.
“I know the scale of the challenge that I’m likely to inherit,” Ms. Reeves told the BBC early Friday.
“There’s not a huge amount of money there,” she said, adding that the party needed to unlock private investment.
Ms. Reeves is expected to approach her new role with deliberation.
Persons:
Rachel Reeves, Britain’s, Reeves, ” Ms, “ There’s, ”, ” Carys Roberts
Organizations:
Labour, BBC, Institute for Public Policy Research