More than a dozen leading UK businesswomen have signed a joint letter welcoming the idea of Labour’s Rachel Reeves becoming the first female chancellor of the exchequer, saying it would help bring a new perspective to economic policymaking. In another payoff from the long efforts made by Reeves and Keir Starmer to court corporations and the City, the assorted chief executives and founders said they had all met the shadow chancellor and “appreciated her openness to business, and her commitment to a genuine plan for economic growth”. It follows a letter signed by 121 business leaders published in the Times last month, shortly after the election was called, endorsing Labour’s economic plans and saying it was “time for a change” in central government.
The next day, Reeves told a business audience in a speech that if Labour was elected she would lead the most “pro-growth” Treasury in UK history, and that her party would “return to the centre ground of politics” by striking a balance between workers’ needs and business interests. The latest letter is signed by 13 senior businesswomen, all of whom are doing so in a personal capacity, and not on behalf of the businesses. They include Jo Whitfield, the chief executive of the retail chain Matalan, and Nicola Mendelsohn, the head of the global business group for the tech multinational Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Other signatories include Janette Bell, the managing director of First Bus; Faeth Birch, the chief executive of UK, Middle East and Asia for the PR group FGS Global; Irene Hays, the chair and owner of Hays Travel; and Karen Blackett, formerly UK president for the advertising company WPP. The letter says the signatories have, over their lives, “seen incredible progress for women, in business, politics and all across society”. It adds: “There are, however, telling gaps in the area of economic policymaking. There has still been no woman governor of the Bank of England, or permanent secretary to the Treasury. Damningly, the post of chancellor of the exchequer is more than 800 years old – and every one has been a man.
“That isn’t because of a lack of talent. We’ve seen hugely talented women of all political persuasions take leading roles, from Margaret Thatcher to Barbara Castle, Harriet Harman to Theresa May. The progress for representation of women in parliament is an important achievement, which we should all take pride in. But we must not rest on our laurels.” Such exclusion of women from economic posts “poses difficult questions for our politics”, the letter says. “We have seen it in business and we know the same is true in politics and economics: women’s underrepresentation in economic decision-making has consequences. On issues from flexible working, to childcare arrangements, to the undervalued work that women disproportionately do in upholding economic activity, we have made only gradual progress in recent decades. “In this election, there is an opportunity for change. As business leaders, we have had the opportunity to meet with Rachel Reeves and talk to her about her plans for the economy. We have appreciated her openness to business, and her commitment to a genuine plan for economic growth. “Whoever wins this election, we should not ignore the chance to make real, tangible progress.”