BBC Rachel Reeves CV Investigation frequent exaggeration

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Rachel Reeves’s professional history has come under renewed scrutiny after it was revealed that her online CV exaggerated the length of time she spent working at the Bank of England. Although she publicly claimed to have worked there for a decade, records indicate that her actual tenure amounted to five and a half years, including nearly a year spent studying.

 

The Chancellor has frequently cited her experience at the Bank of England as evidence of her financial expertise and suitability for managing the nation’s economy. However, in a 2021 magazine interview, which she later posted on X, Reeves stated, "I spent a decade working as an economist at the Bank of England and loved it." Similarly, during a speech at the Labour Party Business Conference in February last year, she reiterated, "I spent the best part of a decade as an economist at the Bank of England."

 

The same claim was echoed at a CEO summit in July 2022 and in a video uploaded to her Facebook page that same month.

 

The Labour Party also repeated this assertion in an official document last year, stating that Reeves had spent "most of the first decade of her career at the Bank of England." However, records show that she had already moved on to HBOS by the spring of 2006, bringing her actual time at the central bank to just five and a half years, including her time studying for a master’s degree at the London School of Economics.

 

 

The Bank of England confirmed last year that Reeves had departed in 2006 but declined to disclose the specific month of her departure, stating that such details were part of confidential staff records. Adding to the controversy, it was discovered that Reeves had run for election in Bromley, south-east London, more than three months after she had taken a new position in West Yorkshire. This has fueled further speculation over whether she has embellished elements of her professional background.

 

Further discrepancies were found in her LinkedIn profile, which was modified last year to describe her role at HBOS as "Retail Banking." Previously, it had stated that she worked as an economist at the bank, but it was later revealed that she had actually held a management role in the Customer Relations department, handling complaints rather than working in an economist capacity.

 

In November, these revelations became a topic of debate in the House of Commons, with several MPs raising questions about Reeves’s professional history. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was questioned on the matter, and the Prime Minister’s spokeswoman also faced inquiries regarding whether Sir Keir Starmer expected members of his Cabinet to be truthful about their career backgrounds. The spokeswoman responded that the controversy pertained to "the chancellor's time before she was the chancellor."

 

"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," she added. Despite the mounting questions, Labour has stood by Reeves, emphasizing her economic credentials and downplaying concerns over the accuracy of her CV.

 

Based on a report by BBC 2025-02-14