Chancellor Rachel Reeves' very normal school background and 'girlie swot' admission

As Rachel Reeves delivers her archetypal Autumn Budget, the Mirror looks astatine the archetypal pistillate Chancellor of the Exchequer's aboriginal days arsenic a studious young authorities schoolhouse pupil determined to beryllium herself against those much privileged

She's present 1 of the astir almighty women successful the country, but Rachel Reeves was erstwhile conscionable a 'girlie swot' from an mean inheritance by her ain admission.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is contiguous delivering her Autumn Budget, has antecedently spoken retired astir the precise mean acquisition she received astatine a authorities broad - a world distant from the tailcoats and stiff starched collars of Eton. Born to superior schoolhouse teachers Graham and Sally, Ms Reeves attended Cator Park School for Girls successful Bromley, wherever she took A Levels successful maths, further maths, economics and politics.

She past went connected to go the 3rd pupil successful Cator Park past to be Oxford University, wherever she work for a grade successful philosophy, politics, and economics, followed by a master's grade astatine the London School of Economics.

The clever schoolgirl's imaginable became evident astatine an aboriginal age, arsenic a inferior chess champion who was a nationalist champion by the clip she was 14. And it was portion playing against privately educated schoolboys who balked astatine the thought of playing against a girl, that Ms Reeves harnessed each her powers of determination to beryllium them wrong.

During an interrogation with The Times backmost successful June, earlier she became the archetypal pistillate chancellor, Ms Reeves recalled what it was similar to beryllium 1 of the fewer authorities schoolhouse pupils to vie successful specified tournaments. She shared: "It did marque maine much determined. One tourney I was playing in, I was drawn against a boy, and his person came implicit and said, 'Lucky you, playing a girl'.

"You tin imagine, if I wasn't going to beryllium giving it my each before, I surely was aft that comment. And truthful I bushed him. There were 2 things I ever wanted to prove: that a miss could beryllium conscionable arsenic bully arsenic a boy, but besides a miss from an mean inheritance could beryllium conscionable arsenic bully arsenic a lad from a much privileged background."

And this steely thrust has continued to steer Ms Reeves arsenic she navigates the precocious echelons of UK authorities - a spot traditionally populated by those from utmost privilege. The Leeds West MP, who has served arsenic shadiness chancellor since May 2021, has admitted she inactive feels a grade of imposter syndrome arsenic she walks the historical halls of Westminister, which has made her each the much resolved to beryllium herself against those who 'underestimate' her - conscionable arsenic she did arsenic a teenage chess player.

Ms Reeves, who worked arsenic an economist earlier entering the satellite of politics, continued: "I bash cognize that it's not accustomed for girls from my inheritance to spell connected to bash what I'm doing contiguous and I'm precise driven to guarantee that much young radical from my background, and much girls arsenic well, get the accidental to get connected and thrive and judge they tin bash anything."

The Chancellor is contiguous (Wednesday, October 30) acceptable to denote £500 cardinal for 5,000 caller affordable homes - galore of which are for societal rent. The 'top up' for the Affordable Homes programme is intended to present a premix of homes to bargain and to rent for beneath marketplace rate, focusing connected delivering homes for societal rent.

The Sunday Mirror revealed backmost successful July that Reeves volition denote measures to let councils and different societal providers to put successful much societal housing, with councils fixed assurances connected the rent levels they tin complaint to guarantee they person the fiscal stableness to get to physique homes.

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