Rachel Reeves to replace No 11 paintings with art of or by women
Rachel Reeves has announced plans to replace every painting in the lavish state room at No 11 Downing Street with artworks of or by women.Speaking at a reception for female business leaders on Wednesday evening, the chancellor said she wanted to mark the lives of the “amazing women who have gone before us”.Addressing the all-female gathering, she said: “This is King James behind me, but next week the artwork in this room is going to change.“Every picture in this room is either going to be of a woman or by a woman – and we’re also going to have a statue in this room of Millicent Fawcett, who did so much for the rights of women.”King James II, who is posing in a suit of armour, with a lustrous head of shoulder-length hair, is likely to be relegated to a storage room.
Most other paintings around the large room currently feature men.The chancellor is planning to take the same approach to choosing artworks to hang in her study, downstairs in No 11.Reeves received a warm cheer when she underlined her delight at “smashing the glass ceiling” to become the first female chancellor, and reiterated her commitment to closing the gender pay gap.“It’s 54 years now since Barbara Castle introduced that legislation on equal pay and yet there is still a 14% gap between what men and women are paid,” she said.“I want to be the chancellor who closes that gap once and for all.
”She mentioned affordable and flexible childcare as one aspect of that challenge.Taking a break from preparations for next month’s crunch budget, Reeves has discussed her plans for a feminist rehang with the curator of the government art collection.Ministers can choose which works from the extensive collection to put on display.Keir Starmer, the prime minister, has removed a portrait of Margaret Thatcher, one of his Conservative predecessors, since he moved in to Downing Street.The grand state room at No 11, with its red silk wallpaper, has large windows overlooking the Downing Street garden, and is used for formal receptions and entertaining guests.
Reeves faces a series of tough tax and spending decisions in the coming weeks that will set the direction for the government.Her announcement that the winter fuel allowance would be scrapped for the vast majority of pensioners attracted widespread concern including within her own party, underlying the trade-offs that lie ahead.
Beating Aldi cashiers at their own game | Brief letters
This is a good game (Shopper’s videos of himself trying to beat ‘insanely speedy’ Aldi cashiers go viral, 16 September). My tactic is to join the queue behind an unfeasibly large trolley-load, then place items in a zigzag pattern on the conveyor. A bottle of gin halfway along gives everyone a breather as the cashier has to wrangle the security tab off, and leaving vegetables until the end allows them to be swept into one’s bags with forearms. Chris Ainsworth Rawtenstall, Lancashire There is an easy way to “beat the cashiers”: if you follow Aldi’s clearly stated request that we pack our shopping at the dedicated packing shelves rather than at the till, no problem. Those of us who do so are delighted by the rapid turnaround
Thames Water trying to stay afloat by rewriting loan deals, says source
Thames Water is trying to buy time to avoid running out of funds by rewriting loan agreements with its lenders as its future hangs in the balance, it has emerged.The troubled water company, which is struggling under £15bn of debts, is attempting to extend its “liquidity runway” after admitting it only has enough cash left to run its operations for eight months, sources have said.The struggling water company has booked dates at the high court in November to potentially gain court approval to change repayment terms, as part of its wider effort to stave off falling into a form of temporary renationalisation.Thames Water, which supplies 16 million customers across London and the Thames Valley, has said it will run out of money by the end of May next year.Its fate is one of the biggest challenges facing the government as Thames battles to raise billions of pounds in fresh funding to avoid falling into government control under a special administration regime
Bank of England governor ‘optimistic’ that interest rates can be cut, after ‘no change’ decision today – as it happened
Newsflash: The Bank of England has left UK interest rates on hold.At its latest meeting, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to leave interest rates at 5%, resisting any temptation to cut rates for the second meeting running.The vote means no fresh relief for borrowers (even as defaults on direct debits rise), a day after the US central bank cut its rates for the first time in four years.The decision comes a day after UK inflation stuck at 2.2% in August, above the Bank’s 2% target, with a rise in both core inflation and services inflation
Why is the Bank of England being cautious in delaying rate cuts?
After the Federal Reserve’s monster 0.5 percentage point cut in US borrowing costs on Wednesday, it seemed strange that the Bank of England should sit on its hands and keep interest rates on hold.From a position earlier this year when the UK’s central bank was leading the way in cutting interest rates, it is now a laggard.The European Central Bank is also ahead, having cut twice over the summer months, matching the half a point reduction made by the Fed.Walking a different path, the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) has kept interest rates on hold at 5%, which now ranks as the highest among major economies
Car industry calls for shift in EU emissions targets amid slowing EV sales
Europe’s car industry has called for the relaxation of EU emissions targets after sales of electric cars stalled further in August, adding to growing political pressure that threatens to slow the transition away from fossil fuels.The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), a lobby group, said that its members could face “multibillion-euro fines” because the shift to electric production has not been quick enough to meet the EU targets.Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, on Wednesday criticised the EU for “self-destructive” policies on shifting to electric production and vowed to make a push to change them. Germany and the Czech Republic, two of the largest manufacturers of cars and parts, have also been increasingly vocal in asking for the rules to be relaxed.The overall European car market has been struggling
JP Morgan creates new role to prevent overwork among junior bankers
JP Morgan has created an international role to oversee the “wellbeing and success” of junior bankers after renewed concerns over the health and safety of overworked staff across the industry.Ryland McClendon, its head of diversity and inclusion, has been appointed as the bank’s first “global investment banking associate and analyst leader”, referring to its most junior ranking staff.“In this role, Ryland will be responsible for leading our associates and analysts globally. She will help to support their wellbeing and success, as well as equip and enable them to deliver for our business, clients and each other,” the bank said in an internal memo seen by the Guardian, and first reported by CNBC.McClendon will be based in New York but is expected to travel to JP Morgan’s other global hubs, including London, as part of the role
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