Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner, and Sir Keir Starmer welcomed high-profile women from across the UK to Downing Street to mark International Women’s Day.
Among the more than 50 inspirational guests were Visakha Devi Dasi, Temple President of Bhaktivedanta Manor, the first female president of a major Hindu temple in the UK; Bibi Khan MBE, the first woman to become president of a mosque in the UK at Wightman Road in Hornsey (London Islamic Cultural Society) and chairperson of the North London Council of Mosques, alongside Jagbir Jhutti Johal, Professor of Sikh Studies at the University of Birmingham. Guests included faith leaders, musicians, lawyers, and other distinguished figures.
Addressing the gathering in No 10’s pillared room, the Prime Minister said, “I really want you to feel at home here because you have the right to put your fingerprints on everything this Government does, and that is done in this place where I live, where I work. This isn’t some great privilege being extended to you to be in this room with us tonight. That is your right. This is the place that you should be telling us what you feel, challenging what we are doing, and pushing us further and faster all of the time.”
Sir Keir also reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to halving violence against women and girls, stating, “The number of women that are killed by their partner has been stuck at an incredibly high number for far, far too long.”
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner spoke about making it easier for the next generation to break barriers. “That’s why I speak like a Mancunian,” she said. “I think there’s something important about being authentically you, whoever that is, and from whatever background, wherever you’re from. Being authentically you creates space for others to see themselves and to come forward and to celebrate who they are for what they are, and that we are all imperfect in a brilliantly perfect way.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves celebrated her historic role as the first woman to hold the position in over 800 years. “It’s a huge privilege for me, a privilege of my career, to be Chancellor of the Exchequer,” she said. “But I think I probably speak for everybody here that being a first also comes with a big responsibility as well. A responsibility in a way, to show that it can be done, because you’re doing it not just for yourself, but to show everybody it can be done.”
