Struggling Brits have paid £3,000 for a painting of Rachel Reeves preparing to hammer them with tax rises.
A portrait of the Chancellor finalising her first Budget has been acquired for the Parliamentary Art Collection.
The work by Sally Ward was unveiled with little fanfare at the end of last month after a competition run by the Society of Women Artists.
The oil painting shows Ms Reeves in her 11 Downing Street study, talking to aides about her financial plans.
Ms Reeves – the first female to take charge of the Treasury – said it was a ‘fitting tribute to all that women have achieved’.
But critics said spending public money on the painting showed a ‘total lack of self-awareness’ as Brits face the prospect of a record tax burden and the fallout from the Middle East crisis.
Commons sources have disclosed that the winning artist was awarded an ‘acquisition prize’ of £3,000, which came from the budget of the cross-party Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art.
A portrait of the Chancellor finalising her first Budget has been acquired for the Parliamentary Art Collection
Critics said spending public money on the painting showed a ‘total lack of self-awareness’ as Brits face the prospect of a record tax burden and the fallout from the Middle East crisis
TaxPayer’s Alliance campaigns director William Yarwood said: ‘Taxpayers will be framing this as a total lack of self-awareness from the chancellor.
‘While Reeves tells households to tighten their belts and hike taxes even further, she seems perfectly happy for the public to pick up the tab for her own vanity projects.
Mr Yarwood said the Chancellor ‘should be focusing on lowering Britain’s crushing tax burden’.
Artists were invited to submit proposals to the SWA, with the committee choosing the work to acquire. Commons sources stressed Ms Reeves did not commission the work.
Ms Reeves has previously rearranged the Treasury artwork, removing a portrait of Margaret Thatcher’s chancellor Nigel Lawson that hung in her office soon after Labour’s 2024 election win.
He was replaced by an image of ‘Red Ellen’ Wilkinson, a former communist who went on to be a Labour minister under Clement Attlee.
She also vowed to make sure all the art in the No11 state room featured or was created by women.
As the painting was unveiled, Ms Reeves said: ‘When I stood at the despatch box to deliver the first Budget by a female Chancellor, I was acutely aware of the generations of women who had fought to make that moment possible.
‘I am deeply honoured that Sally Ward’s portrait will join the Parliamentary Art Collection as a permanent record of that history.
‘I hope this portrait serves as a reminder to every young woman and girl across the country that there should be no ceiling on their ambition.’
Tory MP Caroline Nokes, Chair of the Speaker’s Advisory Committee, said: ‘Images of notable Parliamentarians and holders of important offices of state form one of the core strengths of the public’s Parliamentary Art Collection, this important work from Sally Ward captures a moment in British political and parliamentary history, that celebrates how far women have come in politics.’
Since becoming Chancellor in July 2024, the OBR watchdog’s historical database shows Ms Reeves has imposed an astonishing £75billion a year of extra tax on Britons.
Much of that has gone on spiralling welfare costs, with Labour MPs forcing the government to abandon efforts to curb spending and scrap the two-child benefits cap.
The staggering tally makes her the biggest tax-raising Chancellor in the last six decades, far ahead of her nearest competitor for the dubious distinction.
That was fellow Labour politician Gordon Brown, whose fiscal statements added up to an extra £62.1billion.
Figures released alongside the Spring Statement in March showed the tax burden is on track to reach never-before seen mark of 38.5 per cent of GDP in 2030-31
