When Reeves took office after the election, she was full of beans, boasting about how brilliant it was that the UK had its first female chancellor.

Now her beans are roasted. It turns out that being a woman isn’t enough. You have to be good at the job too. For the record, here are 20 reasons why I think she isn’t.

She kicked off her tenure by banging all about the £22billion hole that the Tories had left her, only to dig a deeper one herself.

In just 10 months (though it’s felt much longer) she’s enraged pensioners by snatching their Winter Fuel Payment, killed growth stone dead and lost her fiscal headroom (not once but twice).

Now she’s in a bind. She daren’t increase taxes again, as we’ve passed the point where they generate extra revenue.

And she daren’t cut state spending, as cutting the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in her Spring Statement cost Labour votes in last week’s elections.

Reeves may even be forced to break her fiscal rules to balance the books, despite calling them “iron-clad” just months ago.

With growth forecasts slashed by half and US president Donald Trump wreaking havoc, she’s in a desperate position.

But help may be at hand.

On Thursday, the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) announces its latest interest rate decision.

Markets are 100% certain it will cut rates for the fourth time since last August, trimming bank rate from 4.5% to 4.25%.

That should ease some of the pressure on mortgage borrowers, and encourage more buyers to enter the housing market.

It will also boost business and consumer confidence, giving the economy a much-needed jolt. That’s good news, but not good enough.

The BoE should recognise the state we’re in and go bigger, with a bold 0.5% cut.

That could finally give Reeves the momentum she’s crying out for. It won’t restore the feelgood factor overnight, but it would get people’s attention.

So what’s stopping it?

Inflation. The BoE expects it to rise to 3.7% this summer. But it puts that down to “increases in global energy costs and some regulated prices, such as water bills”.

That makes no sense. Higher UK interest rates won’t have any impact on oil and water bills.

Also, the BoE said the summer spike will be “only temporary”, with inflation falling back to 2% soon after. If that’s the case, why hold back now?

There’s another reason it should cut big on Thursday.

The MPC made its inflation forecast before Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs sent shockwaves through global markets.

Nobody knows how much damage they’ll do to the UK, but the range runs from bad to brutal.

These are desperate times. We have a desperate chancellor. BoE governor Andrew Bailey needs to wake up. Although on past form, it would be a miracle if he did.

Even after a 0.5% cut, UK interest rates would still sit at 4%. That’s comfortably above the eurozone’s 2.25%. So what’s he waiting for?

I’m not convinced Rachel Reeves deserves a break. But the rest of us certainly do. Bailey should give us one on Thursday.