Reeves, who has been a Labour MP for 14 years, said it was “huge privilege” to be the first ever female chancellor. “To every young woman and girl watching this: let today show that there should be no ceilings on your ambitions, your hopes or your dreams,” she said in her first speech to officials at the Treasury.

But what is actually the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer? According to the UK Parliament website, the chancellor is the country’s ‘chief finance minister’, who sets the nation’s taxes and public spending, and has responsibility for the Treasury, the government’s economic and finance ministry.

In her plan for the UK, Reeves’s number one priority is economic growth, in order to boost spending on public services currently in crisis, such as the NHS, without raising taxes. In a pamphlet published in 2018, called ‘The Everyday Economy’, she emphasised the importance of growing wealth and a flourishing economy, as well as choosing how to spend it.

Born in south-east London in 1979 (the same year that Margaret Thatcher became prime minister), Reeves went to a comprehensive school. She used to work on school projects during the holidays because she liked to “do well at things” and get “top marks”. She’s also a former child chess champion.

She studied politics, philosophy and economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford – a former professor described her as a “good student; in a good year, probably the best” – followed by a master’s at the London School of Economics. After graduating, she began work as an economist for the Bank of England, first on the bank’s Japan desk, then was posted as an economist for the British Embassy to Washington, DC.

Reeves announced her solution to the UK’s weak economy – “securonomics” – in March this year, at her Mais lecture in the City of London, attended by key figures in the finance sector and academia. Championing faster economic growth and more fiscal control, Reeves’ plan is reminiscent of Bidenomics – prioritising stability and security for working people, while trying to recover from what she classifies as the “worst economic situation since the aftermath of World War 2”.

Reeves has pledged to speed up the planning systems for major new infrastructure – including 1.5mn homes in five years and a “clean power system”. She has also vowed to “wage war” against fraud, inefficiency and waste, as well as rigidly enforcing the ministerial code on the use of private jets, which would have reportedly cost taxpayers millions.

Historically, the Labour party has not always been trusted by the business community. During the election campaign, Reeved touted Labour as the “natural party of British business”, but also maintained that the party is “pro-worker”.

Describing herself as a “social democrat” (a version of state-regulated capitalism), Reeves supports large salaries for business bosses, while also claiming to be committed to “turning the minimum wage into a real living wage”.

It seemed to work. Reeves gained the support of big business, with an open letter signed by 121 British business leaders endorsing Labour. In a major coup, she also won the backing of the much-respected ex-governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney.