Rachel Reeves denies plagiarism in new book
Rachel Reeves has denied accusations of apparent plagiarism in her new book on women in economics.
The shadow chancellor’s book, The Women Who Made Modern Economics, contains more than 20 examples where chunks of text appear to be lifted from other sources, or given a minor rewrite, according to the Financial Times.
This included content from blogs, Wikipedia, the Guardian newspaper and the foreword to a report written by the Labour MP Hilary Benn, the FT said.
Reeves’ publisher Basic Books said in a statement that she had never sought to “present these facts as original research”.
A spokesperson said: “There is an extensive and selective bibliography of over 200 books, articles and interviews. Where facts are taken from multiple sources, no author would be expected to reference each and every one.”
They added: “When factual sentences were taken from primary sources, they should have been rewritten and properly referenced. We acknowledge this did not happen in every case.
A spokesperson for Rachel Reeves said: “As always in instances such as these, we will review all sources and ensure any omissions are rectified in future reprints.”
Intended to highlight women’s overlooked contributions to economics, as noted by the FT, the book was launched on Wednesday evening at a party attended by members of the shadow cabinet, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray and Sky journalist Kay Burley.
Reeves has previously written Why Vote Labour, ahead of the 2010 general election; a biography of Leeds MP Baroness Alice Bacon, called Alice in Westminster, published in 2017; and Women of Westminster: The MPs who Changed Politics, published in 2020.