Rachel Reeves has said she is planning take down all the male-heavy paintings in her new official residence and replace them with artwork either made by or depicting women.
The UK’s first female chancellor made the announcement at a reception of women business leaders at No 11 Downing Street yesterday evening.
She was speaking in front of a large portrait of King James II which hangs in the building’s grand state room.
It was one of the pictures that would be taken down next week, she revealed.
Reeves told the gathering: ‘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.’
Fawcett, one of the leading campaigners for women’s suffrage, also has a statue in Parliament Square a short walk from Downing Street.
It is …