Rachel Reeves savaged as £3,000 of taxpayer money spent on painting of her

Rachel Reeves has come under renewed fire after it emerged that around £3,000 of taxpayer money was spent on a painted portrait of the Chancellor. The oil painting, which shows Ms Reeves in her 11 Downing Street study finalising her Budget has been acquired for the Parliamentary Art Collection.

Ms Reeves - the first female to take charge of the Treasury - said the artwork was a "fitting tribute to all that women have achieved". It was unveiled with little promotion at the end of March following a competition run by the Society of Women Artists. However, the portrait has been slammed by critics, who say spending money on it shows a "total lack of self-awareness" as Brits face a record tax burden and the fallout from the Middle East crisis. The winning artist, Sally Ward, has reportedly been awarded an "acquisition prize" of £3,000, funded by the cross-party Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art, according to Commons sources.

According to the Daily Mail, 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.

"Instead of commissioning oil paintings, the Chancellor should be focusing on lowering Britain's crushing tax burden."

Since occupying No 11, Ms Reeves has rearranged the Treasury artwork, removing a portrait of Margaret Thatcher's chancellor Nigel Lawson that hung in her office. He was replaced by an image of "Red Ellen" Wilkinson, a former communist who later became 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.

When 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 that Ms Reeves has imposed £ 75 billion a year of extra tax on Britons, with much of that going towards spiralling welfare costs. This makes her the biggest tax-raising Chancellor in 60 years - far ahead of her nearest competitor, Gordon Brown, whose fiscal statements added up to an extra £62.1billion.

The Express has contacted The Treasury for comment.