From lying on her CV to her Who’s Who entry – will the real Rachel Reeves please stand up?

Being caught fibbing about your career credentials isn’t a great look for a politician who has built her brand on being trustworthy, Labour insiders tell Zoe Beaty. Which is why some are wondering if a Chancellor who is so economical with the truth will last the year…

Another week, another excruciating moment of confusion for Rachel Reeves, the woman tasked with sorting out Britain’s flailing economy. This week it emerged that Reeves is in a bit of bother over her past credentials – or, rather, her lack thereof. In this latest bluff, the chancellor of the exchequer has reportedly been caught fibbing about having work published in one of the world’s leading economic journals on the prestigious historical reference site, Who’s Who. But it’s not the first time that Reeves has had a bit of difficulty with What’s What.

It’s the most recent blunder in a growing list of botched jobs that paint a less-than-ideal picture of the woman whose credentials are built – and depend on – trust. Late last year she was forced to amend her profile on professional networking site LinkedIn after it came to light that her claim that she worked as an economist at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) immediately before becoming an MP was untrue.

Her retired former colleague, Kev Gillett, revealed in a public post that, “Back in 2009 Rt Hon Rachel Reeves worked 3 levels below me. Just facts,” he wrote. “She was a complaints support manager at LGB/HBOS. Not an economist. #factcheck.”

Gillett went on to make further claims – that Reeves, along with two other senior managers, was subject to an expenses scandal while working at the bank. This was subsequently investigated by the BBC, which published a report last week.

After speaking to “twenty people, many of whom were former colleagues” of Reeves, the report found that a “detailed six-page whistleblowing complaint and dozens of pages of attached evidence, which we have seen, raised concerns that the three managers were using the bank’s money to ‘fund a lifestyle’ with allegedly inappropriate spending on dinners, events, taxis and gifts, including for each other.”

Reeves and her team have vehemently denied the allegations – science secretary Peter Kyle told BBC’s Radio 4 that the chancellor had no knowledge of the investigation, adding that “The head of HR at that bank at that time says it’s untrue”. The BBC were unable to find any evidence that the internal investigation at the bank concluded, despite “the initial stage of the investigation [finding] that Reeves and her two colleagues appeared to have broken rules”.

Still, it wasn’t – and isn’t – a good look. And it hasn’t stopped there. Growing speculation over whether Reeves has exaggerated her CV was only exacerbated by Tuesday’s reports in The Times, which allege that her entry in Who’s Who credited her as a contributor to the Journal of Political Economy – one of the most revered economic journals worldwide. In fact, she has never been published by them. Her only paper appears in the European Journal of Political Economy, a much less prestigious publication.

According to The Times, the party line from her loyal colleagues is that “there was no record of how the entry had come to be made or who had approved the description of her publication record, which has consistently been listed under her name in Who’s Who since she became an MP in 2010”.

Who’s Who are very clear about the process of making an entry, which is said to be a lengthy and detailed process: “Each entry is written by the person themselves,” one stipulation notes. “You, the biographee, play a crucial part in keeping Who’s Who accurate and up-to-date, both by providing biographical information for your entry the first time you appear in the book, and by helping us to revise and update the details of your entry for each subsequent annual edition.” They state that a postal address is required for checking and revising the entry each year.

Starmer and Reeves attend a Growth Business Breakfast at Bloomberg's London HQ (Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street)

Perhaps Reeves missed the yearly memo. Despite this, prime minister Keir Starmer has consistently reiterated his trust in Reeves as the “right person” to fix the economy. Yet, time and time again, it appears, Reeves is having to back-peddle. She’s previously been called out for boasting that she worked as an economist at the Bank of England for “a decade”, despite only being employed for five years and seven months – and her Who’s Who entry, which states she worked there until 2009 (she left in 2006) doesn’t do much better.

It’s clear she’s in troubled waters, one Westminster insider says. “The problem is that the CV stuff wouldn’t have been so bad if she had been perceived to be a good chancellor and an honest dealer, if you like. And the issues go back to before the election.” Reeves made “fairly big” promises to business leaders on taxation and workers rights, he says, “Then, of course, as soon as they’re in, everything unravels.

“So really, businesses don’t trust her anymore, unions are suspicious of her … And on top of that, suddenly it turns out she’s been exaggerating her CV. People can put these things together – the economy isn’t growing like she promised, she’s done things she said she wouldn’t do, things are generally getting worse. So why should we trust her with anything? She’s made a big deal about being qualified for her job. Well, maybe she’s not.”

Demonstrators during a Farmers’ Protest in Westminster earlier this month (Getty)

Until the weekend, when it emerged that Starmer was set to “overrule” Reeves’ defence spending plan, it appeared that she at least had the PM on her side. However, “having spoken to a number of Labour backbenchers,” says the insider, “none of them seem to think she’d survive the year.”

Reeves isn’t the only Labour minister finding her fibs catching up with her – yesterday it emerged that business secretary Jonathan Reynolds also claimed on his CV that he worked as a solicitor in Manchester before becoming an MP, despite never having qualified. Inevitably, some colleagues are distancing themselves from the unravelling chaos, but all the more importantly, the merry-go-round is taking its toll on increasingly impatient Labour voters.

One-third have lost faith in the economy in response to Reeves’ leadership decisions – like her winter fuel tax policy – according to a recent Ipsos survey. They also found that 52 per cent of Brits are more pessimistic; half of the public think unemployment will rise this year. According to one new poll, Keir Starmer is a worse PM than Boris Johnson.

Reeves has a lot of work to do in a country with worsening standards of living, growing inequality and a worryingly uncertain future. Let’s hope that while she’s squaring up Britain’s broken economy she manages to get her story straight, too.