'It's the last glass ceiling in politics' The woman with her eyes on No 11

After a long day out on the election campaign trail across the south of England, Rachel Reeves was heading back to her home in London to do some latenight cooking with leftovers from Sunday lunch.

- Pippa Crerar

"I don't like waste," she explained, when asked if she was as cautious in her own household as she has promised to be with the nation's finances, despite pressure from within the Labour party to be more ambitious.

"We had roast lamb at the weekend. I'm worried there's a lot of lamb left in the fridge so I'm going to make a curry when I get home late this evening and whack it in the freezer so it will be ready after the general election."

Reeves relishes her reputation for fiscal prudence and has promised to be the "iron chancellor" who will get the UK economy back on track. If the polls are accurate, her lamb curry will end up in the freezer at 11 Downing Street.

It would be a historic moment. In the hundreds of years that the post has existed, it has only ever been held by a man. In the last 14 years alone, there have been seven Conservative chancellors. Again, all men.

"I hope that one of the things that I can do if I become the first ever female chancellor of the exchequer is show that there are no jobs that women can't do. This will be the last big job in government that a woman has never done.

"You've had a woman defence secretary, foreign secretary, home secretary, prime minister and speaker of the House of Commons. We've never had a woman in charge of the nation's finances. I think that carries with it a big responsibility.. It's the last glass ceiling in politics," said Reeves.

Sitting at a high table in the staff canteen at a Morrisons supermarket in Swindon, Reeves said the prospect of becoming chancellor made her reflect on the Labour women she admired across history.