Reeves elected as BEIS committee chair

MP’s priorirites include securing a “sustainable and cost-effective energy policy”

Rachel Reeves has won the contest to become the new chair of the business, energy and industrial strategy select committee.

John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, announced yesterday evening that the Leeds MP had won the election for the chairmanship of the committee which oversees the BEIS department.

She was up against three fellow Labour backbench MPs – Liam Byrne, Ian Lucas and Albert Owen – to fill the post which was vacated by Iain Wright when he stood down as an MP at June’s general election.

Reeves served as shadow Treasury chief secretary and then work and pensions secretary of state under Ed Miliband during the 2010-2015 Parliament.

Before becoming an MP, she worked for ten years at the Bank of England, then at the British Embassy in Washington as an economist and HBOS.

During the last Parliament, when she did not make herself available to serve in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet, Reeves was a member of the Treasury select committee.

When campaigning to become BEIS committee chair, she said that her priorities would include securing a “sustainable and cost-effective energy policy”.

Speaking today (13 July), Reeves said: “As a committee, there are a number of issues I believe we will want to consider for future inquiries Ensuring that we develop sustainable growth and climate change policies that help create new and well paid jobs should be a priority for the committee. Shining a light on diversity at the top levels of our businesses and tackling the gender, disability and BAME pay gaps should be on the committee’s agenda. Scrutinising the government’s approach to the challenges of the ‘gig economy’ and the growth of self-employment and how to deliver fairness and flexibility in the British labour market should also be an area of interest for the committee.”

Conservative backbench MP Neil Parish was re-elected environment, food and rural affairs select committee chair, defeating former Tory London mayoral candidate Zack Goldsmith.