Rachel Reeves talks herself into a job

Rachel Reeves is now “a highly sought after” public speaker Getty Images T here was a slight drop in unemployment this week, so it seems only apt that Rachel Reeves has found a new job. The former chancellor has been signed up by Chartwell Speakers and is now available for all sorts of engagements as “a highly sought after” orator. Chartwell know of what they speak — they also represent Liz Truss. In fact, Chartwell are the go-to agency for politicians who have hit a bit of career trouble. They also represent Angela Rayner, who was enjoying fees of £20,000 per speech until she was ensnared back into government. Finally, Reeves will understand what strong growth really feels like. Labour of love Exciting news for fans of romantic films and British political history: the writer John O’Farrell is working on a film about the love triangle between Harold Wilson, his wife, Mary, and his adviser, Marcia Falkender. This is a script that will benefit from having some lines already written, such as Falkender’s remark: “Back in the Fifties I had sex with your husband six times, and it was unsatisfactory.” This production, which you can think of as Five Elections and a Lavender List, will be more drama than comedy, so we probably won’t get the line: “Have I affected the pound in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?” Most commented 1 US withdraws diplomats from Saudi Arabia amid deadly Houthi attacks US news 203 comments Crossbenchers have been cross-legged in the Lords. A five-hour debate on the Railways Bill proved too much for Lord Moylan, who said: “Some of us have not actually been able to have a loo break.” I’m sure listening to the wisdom of Chris Grayling made it all worth it. Net zero transmissions The energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh may have been given a dressing down by the Speaker for briefing the press, but she’ll not be doing any of that before the budget. She’s one of a number of ministers who has signed Whitehall’s equivalent of an NDA, and this is one of several things she has had to get used to in her new job. “I didn’t know the phrase ‘quasi-judicial’ until I started this role,” she told a lobby lunch. She also said that she’d worked out which journalists were nice about her and which were nasty. Unfriendly hacks call her an “eco loon” while her fans go with “eco zealot”. Top stories 1 Tripsnacking? Finally a travel trend I can get on board with Advice Sir Keir Starmer is property hunting in north London and one house he’s looked at is the broadcaster Richard Bacon’s, who saw the ex-PM when he viewed the £3m pile. “I was thinking, ‘Five minutes ago you were flying to the White House and stuff’,” Bacon told the Why Are You More Successful Than Me? podcast. “It’s a lot to lose, isn’t it?” It’s possible that talking to Donald Trump is not one of the things Starmer misses. Advertisement Library loses plot Scandal at the London Library, where members are aghast at being told that they are on something called a “wait list”. The library may be a bastion of the English language, but it is apparently unable to overcome the sins of American software. Top stories 1 High street banks are on borrowed time Saving & Investing 2 Belgium’s most stylish autumn weekend break — and it’s not Bruges Belgium Dame Judi Dench will always be M, especially to her first Bond. The actress says that Pierce Brosnan visited her for lunch recently, but stopped dead in her doorway as he looked at his feet. She explained: “I’d completely forgotten that I have a doormat there saying, ‘I’ve been expecting you, Mr Bond’.”