Leeds MP Rachel Reeves becomes UK's first female chancellor
She says it sends a message to every young woman that 'there should be no ceilings on your ambitions'
The UK has its first-ever female chancellor as Rachel Reeves is given the job by the new prime minister.
The MP for Leeds West and Pudsey was re-elected into the newly expanded constituency overnight and had served as Shadow Chancellor since 2021.
In her speech to HM Treasury staff this afternoon she said:
"It is a huge privilege to be the first ever female Chancellor of the Exchequer.
"So every young woman and girl watching this: let today show that there should be no ceilings on your ambitions.
"Your hopes, or your dreams.
"But there is a deeper responsibility too: To women whose work is too often undervalued.
"Who have borne the brunt of inequality. And whose lives and interests are too often excluded from economic policymaking.
"Together, we are going to change that."
She also says she wants the Labour Government to work "hand in glove with business" as she vowed its "central mission" would be to boost economic growth:
"The central mission of this new Government will be to restore economic growth.
"To deliver on this mission, I want this to be the most pro-growth Treasury in our country's history. That will mean doing what the Treasury does best - building growth on a rock of economic stability."
She said Labour would usher in a new era of industrial strategy as it embarks on its "energy transition."
Elsewhere Angela Rayner was confirmed as Deputy Prime Minister and retained the levelling up, housing and communities brief, and Yvette Cooper is Home Secretary.