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Woman's Hour

Coleen Rooney, Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves MP, Poet Becky Hemsley.

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.13K Ratings

🗓️ 18 October 2023

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If the current polls are to be believed the next chancellor of the exchequer could be a woman. That woman would be Rachel Reeves, the current shadow chancellor and the MP for Leeds West. Originally from Lewisham, South London, she attended a state school, made it to Oxford University then into the world of finance working as an economist for the Bank of England. Labour have yet to announce their manifesto and detailed costed policies to put to the electorate, but we can examine the philosophy behind Labour’s economic thinking because Rachel has just published her latest book, The Women Who made Modern Economics, and hear how they have influenced her own thinking.

In October 2019, Coleen Rooney posted on social media that she had been concerned by articles appearing in newspapers that could only have come from stories on her private Instagram account. So she laid a trap for the account she suspected of the leak, and then told the world ‘It was…Rebekah Vardy’s account’. Immediately dubbed ‘Wagatha Christie’ - Rebekah Vardy, who continues to deny she was the source of those stories, sued Coleen for libel. A High Court judge ruled in Coleen Rooney’s favour last year and she is now putting her side of the story in a documentary series on Disney Plus called Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story. She speaks to Emma Barnett in a radio exclusive interview. 

British poet Becky Hemsley has self-published four collections of her work and has been top of the Amazon poetry chart twice now - most recently around International Women's Day last March. Originally a primary school teacher, she now focuses solely on her poetry. She joins Emma to explain why and to perform some of her poetry live.

Presented by Emma Barnett Producer: Louise Corley Studio Engineer: Bob Nettles

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself.

0:03.7

My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a Load of Sport Podcasts.

0:08.4

I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with a leading journalist, experienced

0:12.2

pundits and the biggest sport stars.

0:14.3

Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the players'

0:18.5

mouths.

0:19.5

But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is our unique access to the sport in world.

0:25.0

What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to

0:28.8

dedicated sports fans across the UK.

0:31.2

So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more.

0:40.9

Hello, I'm Emma Barnett and welcome to Woman's Hour from BBC Radio 4.

0:45.6

Good morning and welcome to the programme.

0:48.7

With the news that hundreds of Palestinians are dead according to health officials in

0:54.2

Gaza after a huge blast at a hospital in Gaza City, I'll be joined by one of the

0:59.0

most senior women in the Labour Party and hoping to be this country's first female

1:03.3

chancellor, Rachel Reeves to understand political reaction closer to home.

1:08.2

She'll also be making her case about the specific influence women can have on a country's

1:12.9

political and crucially for her role, economic decision-making.

1:17.8

Also on today's programme, we hear from a woman who has been described in many ways,

1:22.5

including as a WAG and also most recently WAGatha Christie.

1:27.0

But we rarely hear from the woman herself in her own words.

1:31.5

In a radio interview exclusive Colleen Rooney is on Woman's Hour today and opens up about

...

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