Ed Balls

Last updated

Normanton (2005–2010)
Yvette Cooper
​
(m. 1998)​
The Right Honourable
Ed Balls
Ed Balls 2.jpg
Official portrait, 2007
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
In office
28 June 2007 –11 May 2010
In office
5 May 2005 –30 March 2015
Children3
Parent(s) Michael Balls
Carolyn Riseborough
Residence(s)London, England
Castleford, West Yorkshire, England
Alma mater
(MPA)
Signature Ed Balls signature.svg
Website www.edballs.co.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Ed Balls's voice
Balls speaks at the opening of Bristol Brunel Academy
Recorded 6 September 2007

Edward Michael Balls (born 25 February 1967) is a British politician, broadcaster and economist. He served as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 to 2010, and as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2011 to 2015. A member of Labour Co-op, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Normanton and later for Morley and Outwood between 2005 and 2015.

Contents

Balls attended Nottingham High School before he studied philosophy, politics and economics at Keble College, Oxford, and was later a Kennedy Scholar in economics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He was a teaching fellow at Harvard from 1988 to 1990, when he joined the Financial Times as the lead economic writer. Balls had joined the Labour Party while attending Nottingham High School, and became an adviser to Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown in 1994, continuing in this role after Labour won the 1997 general election, and eventually becoming the Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury.

At the 2005 general election, Balls was elected as the MP for Normanton (which in 2010 became Morley and Outwood), and in 2006 became Economic Secretary to the Treasury. When Brown became Prime Minister in 2007, Balls became Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, serving until the 2010 general election; Labour were defeated after 13 years in government. Balls was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Education under Harriet Harman (as temporary leader) and finished in third place at the 2010 Labour leadership election, triggered by Brown's resignation as Leader of the Labour Party, after which he was appointed as Ed Miliband's Shadow Home Secretary. He served in this role until 2011, when he was appointed Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, a role that he held until he was unseated at the 2015 general election.

Following his electoral defeat, he became a senior fellow at Harvard University Kennedy School's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, and a visiting professor to the Policy Institute at King's College London. He was appointed chairman of Norwich City F.C. in December 2015, a position he held until December 2018. In 2020, he was appointed Professor of Political Economy at King's College London. [1] Balls was a contestant on series 14 of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing , surviving until week 10, and in 2021 was the winner in the BBC's Celebrity Best Home Cook . He is currently a presenter for the ITV breakfast show Good Morning Britain .

Early life

Balls' father is zoologist Michael Balls; his mother is Carolyn Janet Riseborough. [2] His younger brother is Andrew Balls, the CIO for Global Fixed Income at the investment firm PIMCO. [3] His grandfather was a lorry driver and died of cancer when Balls was young. [4] His father, in Norfolk, was active in the local Labour party, delivering leaflets, and was chairman of the Campaign for the Advancement of Norfolk Education – CANE.

Balls was born in Norwich. When he was eight years old the family moved to Nottingham [5] where he attended Crossdale Drive Primary School in Keyworth and the private all-boys Nottingham High School, where he played the violin. [6]

He was in the school choir, and played violin in the orchestra, where the head of music was Kendrick Partington, [7] the organist of St Peter's Church, Nottingham.

When Prince Philip visited the school on Friday 2 March 1984, to open a new science block, as a Venture scout in the sixth form, he met the Prince wearing outdoor walking clothing. Ed Davey, as head boy, met the Prince too, as one of three brothers who had gained the D of E gold award. [8]

He was a house captain, and gained A-levels in English, History, and Economics in 1985. [9]

Raised as an Anglican [10] he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Keble College, Oxford, graduating with a First – according to John Rentoul in The Independent – ahead of David Cameron. [11] Later he attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, where he was a Kennedy Scholar specialising in Economics. [11]

Balls joined the Labour Party in 1983 while still at school. [6] While at Oxford University he was a partially active member of the Labour Club, but also signed up to the Liberal Club [12] as well as the Conservative Association, "because they used to book top-flight political speakers, and only members were allowed to attend their lectures" according to friends. [13] Balls was a founding member of The Steamers, an all-male drinking club, and suffered embarrassment when a contemporary photo of him wearing Nazi uniform appeared in the papers. [14]

Early career

Official portrait, 2002 Edward Balls, Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury.jpg
Official portrait, 2002

Between 1988 and 1990, Balls was a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University. [15] He joined the Financial Times in 1990 as a lead economic writer until his appointment as an economic adviser to Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown in 1994. When Labour regained power at the 1997 general election, Brown became Chancellor and Balls continued to work as his economic adviser, eventually becoming Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury. [16] [17]

Political career

In July 2004, Balls was selected to stand as Labour and Co-operative candidate for the parliamentary seat of Normanton in West Yorkshire, a Labour stronghold whose MP, Sir Bill O'Brien, was retiring. He stepped down as Chief Economic Adviser to HM Treasury, but was given a position at the Smith Institute, a political think tank. HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office subsequently stated that "the normal and proper procedures were followed". [18]

Member of Parliament

In the 2005 general election, he was elected MP for Normanton with a majority of 10,002 and 51.2% of the vote. After the Boundary Commission proposed changes which would abolish his constituency, Balls ran a campaign, in connection with the local newspaper the Wakefield Express , [19] to save the seat and, together with the three other Wakefield MPs (his wife Yvette Cooper, Mary Creagh and Jon Trickett), fought an unsuccessful High Court legal action against the Boundary Commission's proposals. [20]

In March 2007, he was selected to be the Labour Party candidate for the new Morley and Outwood constituency; unlike the previous safe Labour seat of Normanton, it was a marginal, which contained parts of the abolished Normanton and Morley and Rothwell constituencies, [21] and was elected for the new seat in May 2010. On 5 February 2013, Balls voted in favour in the House of Commons Second Reading vote on marriage equality in Britain. [22] Balls was a member of the Labour Friends of Israel. [23]

Allegations over allowances

In September 2007, with his wife Yvette Cooper, he was accused by Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker of "breaking the spirit of Commons rules" by using MPs' allowances to help pay for a £655,000 home in north London. [24] Balls and Cooper bought a four-bedroom house in Stoke Newington, and registered this as their second home (rather than their home in Castleford, West Yorkshire) to qualify for up to £44,000 a year to subsidise a reported £438,000 mortgage under the Commons Additional Costs Allowance, of which they claimed £24,400. Both worked in London full-time and their children attended local London schools. Balls and Cooper claimed that "The whole family travel between their Yorkshire home and London each week when Parliament is sitting. As they are all in London during the week, their children have always attended the nearest school to their London house." [25]

Balls and Cooper "flipped" the designation of their second home three times within the space of two years. [26] In June 2008, they were referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over allegations that they were claiming expenses for what was effectively their main home in London. Their combined claim was £24,000 i.e. "slightly more" than the single MP allowance. [26] The commissioner exonerated them, adding that their motives were not for profit as they paid full capital gains tax. [26]

Cabinet

Balls became Economic Secretary to the Treasury, a junior ministerial position at HM Treasury, in the Cabinet reshuffle of May 2006. While Economic Secretary, he was commissioned, alongside Jon Cunliffe, by the G7 finance ministers to prepare a report on economic aspects of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. [27]

When Gordon Brown became Prime Minister on 27 June 2007, Balls was promoted to Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. At the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Balls brought together schools and children's policy for the first time in the Children's Plan and raised the UK education and training leaving age to 18. [28] In 2007 Balls was considered to be given the post of Chancellor, but the role was given to Alistair Darling. [29]

In October 2008, Balls announced that the government had decided to scrap SAT tests for 14-year-olds, [30] a move which was broadly welcomed by teachers, parent groups and opposition MPs. [31] The decision to continue with SAT tests for 11-year-olds was described by head teachers' leader Mick Brookes as a missed opportunity. [32]

In December 2008, following the case of the Death of Baby P, [33] Balls intervened directly in the running of Haringey Social Services, ordering the immediate dismissal, without compensation, of Sharon Shoesmith the director of children's services. [34] David Cameron had also called for her dismissal. [34]

Prior to her dismissal, Shoesmith had been widely praised in her former role as Director of Education, though she was handicapped by having no social work background. [35] An emergency OFSTED report ordered by Balls in November 2008 following the child abuse trial found that safeguarding arrangements were inadequate although Shoesmith's lawyers alleged that the final report had been altered. [36] Shoesmith subsequently brought a Judicial review against Balls, Ofsted and Haringey Council [36] and a series of appeals followed. [33]

The Conservative Opposition supported Balls' right to dismiss her "because ministers want to uphold the principle that they – and not the courts, through judicial review – should be responsible for their decisions". [37] She received compensation as her sacking was deemed "procedurally unfair" [38] and the Department for Children, Schools and Families was subsequently refused leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. [33]

In October 2013, it was reported that Shoesmith had agreed to an out-of-court settlement with Haringey Council; unconfirmed reports referred to a sum of 'up to £600,000'. Appeal Court judge Lord Neuberger had described Balls' dismissal of Shoesmith as 'unlawful', but in a statement issued on 29 October, Balls asserted that 'faced with the same situation [he] would do the same thing again.' [39]

Balls sponsored the Children, Schools and Families Bill, which had its first reading on 19 November 2009. [40] Part of the proposed legislation was to see regulation of parents who home educate their children in England, introduced in response to the Badman Review, with annual inspections to determine quality of education and welfare of the child. Home educators across the UK petitioned their MPs to remove the proposed legislation. [41]

Several parts of the bill, including the proposed register for home educators, and compulsory sex education lessons, were abandoned as they had failed to gain cross party support prior to the pending May 2010 election. [42]

2010 Labour leadership election

Following the resignation of Gordon Brown as both Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party, Balls announced on 19 May 2010 that he was standing in the election to replace Brown. [43] Balls was the third candidate to secure the minimum of 33 nominations from members of the Parliamentary Labour Party in order to enter the leadership race. The other contenders were former Foreign Secretary David Miliband, former Health Secretary Andy Burnham, backbencher Diane Abbott and former Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, [44] who was elected.

Shadow Cabinet

Ed Miliband at PMQs, flanked by Balls (left) and Harriet Harman (right) Ed Miliband PMQs.png
Ed Miliband at PMQs, flanked by Balls (left) and Harriet Harman (right)

The new leader Ed Miliband appointed Balls Shadow Home Secretary on 8 October 2010, a job he held until 20 January 2011, when the resignation of Alan Johnson for "personal reasons" led Miliband to announce Balls as Labour's Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. [45]

As Shadow Chancellor, Balls regularly appeared with Miliband at joint press conferences relating to Labour policy. Together with Miliband, Balls promoted a "five-point plan for jobs and growth" as Shadow Chancellor. The plan was described as aimed at helping the UK economy, and would have involved reinstating the bonus tax to fund building more social homes, bringing forward long-term investment, cutting VAT to 17.5%, cutting VAT on home improvements to 5% for one year, and instigating a one-year National Insurance break. [46]

Balls declared in January 2012 that he would continue with the public sector pay freeze which led to opposition from Len McCluskey. He had a bruising exchange in the House of Commons with George Osborne regarding the Libor rate scandal, where Osborne accused Balls of being involved in the scandal. Conservative MPs became unhappy after Bank of England deputy governor, Paul Tucker denied encouragement to pressurise Barclays with Andrea Leadsom saying Osborne had made a mistake and should apologise. [47]

2015 general election

In the 2015 general election Balls lost his seat to the Conservative Party's Andrea Jenkyns by a margin of 0.9%. It was claimed that the Labour leader's office had known for two weeks that Balls was likely to lose. [48] Larry Elliott of The Guardian described this as the Portillo moment of the election. [49] On 11 May, it was reported that, on leaving the Commons, Balls would receive up to £88,000 in expenses for relocation and to close down his parliamentary office. [50]

Ed Balls Day

Ed Balls
@edballs
 Logo of Twitter.svg

Ed Balls

28 April 2011 [51]

On 28 April 2011, Balls, urged by an assistant to search Twitter for a recent article about himself, accidentally entered his intended search term in the wrong box and sent a tweet reading only "Ed Balls". [52] [53] The tweet was retweeted by thousands; Balls was unaware that it was possible to delete tweets. The tweet has never been deleted. The incident is now celebrated as "Ed Balls Day" every 28 April, with followers retweeting his original message and commemorating the occasion in other ways. [54] [55] When invited to send something to be auctioned to raise funds for the party in 2015, Balls submitted a framed, signed printout of the tweet. [56] To celebrate "Ed Balls Day" in 2016, Balls baked a cake featuring the tweet. [57]

Six years on from the original tweet, Ed Balls Day 2017 drew tweets from organisations including Virgin Atlantic and the National Trust – the latter in response to a tweet parodying Prime Minister Theresa May's criticism of the National Trust for omitting the word "Easter" from promotional material for Easter egg hunts. [58]

Ten years after the incident, Ed Balls Day was still being celebrated, [59] with many offering each other a "Happy Ed Balls Day" online, in the style of a public holiday. [60] [61]

Political activities

Balls has played a prominent role in the Fabian Society. In 1992, he wrote a Fabian pamphlet advocating Bank of England independence, a policy adopted when Gordon Brown became Chancellor in 1997. [11] Balls was elected Vice-Chair of the Fabian Society for 2006 and Chair of the Fabian Society for 2007. As Vice-Chair of the Fabian Society, he launched the Fabian Life Chances Commission report in April 2006 [62] and opened the society's Next Decade lecture series in November 2006, [63] arguing for closer European cooperation on the environment.[ citation needed ]

Balls has been a central figure in New Labour's economic reform agenda. He and Brown have differed from the Blairites in being keen to stress their roots in Labour Party intellectual traditions such as Fabianism and the co-operative movement, as well as their modernising credentials in policy and electoral terms. In a New Statesman interview in March 2006, Martin Bright writes that Balls "says the use of the term 'socialist' is less of a problem for his generation than it has been for older politicians like Blair and Brown, who remain bruised by the ideological warfare of the 1970s and 1980s". [64] In the interview, Balls said:

When I was at college, the economic system in eastern Europe was crumbling. We didn't have to ask the question of whether we should adopt a globally integrated, market-based model. For me, it is now a question of what values you have. Socialism, as represented by the Labour Party, the Fabian Society, the Co-operative movement, is a tradition I can be proud of. [64]

Balls attended the 2006, 2014, and 2015 Bilderberg meetings. [65] [66] [67] Balls was a member of the Labour Friends of Israel. [23]

Later career

Balls (left) performs at The Queen's Birthday Party with Frank Skinner (centre) and Harry Hill (right). The George Formby Society (cropped).jpg
Balls (left) performs at The Queen's Birthday Party with Frank Skinner (centre) and Harry Hill (right).

After leaving politics, Balls was appointed Senior Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and also became visiting professor of King's College, London. [68] [69] He was appointed as the chairman of Norwich City F.C. in December 2015, [70] [71] the football club he supports. [72] [71] He stood down in December 2018. [73]

In 2016 he took part in The Great Sport Relief Bake Off [74] and series 14 of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing . [75] He was partnered with Katya Jones, a Russian professional dancer. [76] Writing about his performance in the sixth week Halloween special, Michael Hogan of The Daily Telegraph said "The dad-dancing politician got a standing ovation from the studio audience, chuckles from the judges and enough viewer votes to keep him out of yet another dance-off." [77] His dance to "Gangnam Style" was nominated for the Must-See Moment Award at the 2017 Television BAFTAs. [78] He was eventually eliminated in week 10. [79]

Balls' autobiographical memoir Speaking Out was published in August 2016. [80] In the book, he said Labour's four-week general election campaign in 2015 was "astonishingly dysfunctional" and "we weren't ready – and didn't deserve – to return to government". He also described Jeremy Corbyn's leadership project as a "leftist utopian fantasy, devoid of connection to the reality of people's lives". [81]

A three-part documentary, Travels in Trumpland with Ed Balls, began broadcasting on BBC Two on 29 July 2018. It looked at supporters of the then President Trump and how things have changed. During one episode, Balls took part in a professional wrestling match in order to explore the correlation between Trump and the sport. [82] Another three-part documentary, Travels in Euroland with Ed Balls, began broadcasting on BBC Two on 23 January 2020. It explores anti-elite sentiment in Europe, the rise of right-wing politics, and the effect austerity has had in European politics. [83]

In September 2017, Balls was placed at Number 74 in 'The 100 Most Influential People on the Left' by commentator Iain Dale. [84] In November 2017, Balls was a contestant on the British TV show Would I Lie to You? , where he revealed that he had once negotiated the Home Office budget while crawling in a children's ball pit. [85]

In January and February 2021, Balls was the winner in BBC One's Celebrity Best Home Cook . [86] In May 2021, in celebration of "Lifelong Learning Week", Balls hosted a special event at adult education provider City Lit alongside its Principal, Mark Malcomson. Balls discussed the importance of lifelong learning and his time at City Li.t as well as his memoir Appetite. Balls received a City Lit Lifetime Fellowship Award as recognition for the support and inspiration he provided to the organisation and its students. [87]

On 8 and 15 November 2021, Balls hosted Ed Balls: Crisis In Care on BBC Two, a two-part documentary exploring the challenges facing social care providers in England. [88] [89] On 30 November 2021, he was the subject of the BBC television programme Who Do You Think You Are?. [90] [91]

On 14 September 2023, Balls and George Osborne started hosting the economics-focused politics podcast Political Currency . [92] On 17 January 2024, Balls received publicity for accidentally kicking Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid in the head during a segment on travel etiquette. He apologised immediately, and repeated his apologies later in the programme. [93]

On 5 August 2024, Balls interviewed MP Zarah Sultana on the then ongoing anti-immigrant riots in the UK, in which he repeatedly interrupted and verbally clashed with her when she argued the unrest should be condemned as "Islamophobic". During the same broadcast, Balls interviewed his own wife, Yvette Cooper, in her role as role as Home Secretary. Ofcom reported a total of 8,201 complaints received over the episode, stemming from both of the interviews. [94] [95]

Personal life

Balls in 2021 Ed Balls 2021.jpg
Balls in 2021

Balls married Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who later became Home Secretary, in Eastbourne on 10 January 1998. [96] Cooper is Member of Parliament for Normanton, Pontefract and Knottingley, the neighbouring constituency to Morley & Outwood from 2010 to 2024. They have three children. [97] [ better source needed ] In January 2008, they became the first married couple to serve together in HM Cabinet when Cooper became Chief Secretary to the Treasury, although Cooper had attended cabinet sessions as housing minister prior to then. [98] [99]

In September 2010, the British Stammering Association announced that Balls had become a patron of the association. Its chief executive, Norbert Lieckfeldt, commended Balls for talking about his stammer in public. [100] [101]

In June 2013, Balls was fined for going through a red light in December 2012. [102] He has also admitted speeding in April 2013 and using his mobile phone while driving during the 2010 general election campaign. [102] On 5 August 2014, he was fined £900 and given five penalty points on his driving licence for failing to stop after a car accident. He said he knew that the cars had touched, but did not stop to check as he did not think any damage had been done. [103]

Balls was portrayed by Nicholas Burns in the 2015 Channel 4 television film Coalition . [104]

Balls is a member of a band called Centrist Dad. Balls, who plays the drums, is accompanied by Robert Peston on vocals, and John Wilson on bass guitar. [105]

Publications

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Brown</span> Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2010

James Gordon Brown is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Tony Blair from 1997 to 2007. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Dunfermline East from 1983 to 2005, and Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath from 2005 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvette Cooper</span> British politician (born 1969)

Yvette Cooper is a British politician who has served as Home Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, Cooper has been member of parliament (MP) for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley, previously Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford, since 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Johnson</span> British politician (born 1950)

Alan Arthur Johnson is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2006 to 2007, Secretary of State for Health from 2007 to 2009, Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010, and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2011. A member of the Labour Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle from 1997 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Osborne</span> British newspaper editor and politician (born 1971)

George Gideon Oliver Osborne is a British retired politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the Cameron government. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton from 2001 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Purnell</span> BBCs Director of Radio and Education, former Labour minister

James Mark Dakin Purnell is a British former broadcasting executive and Labour Party politician who served as a Cabinet minister in the Brown Government from 2007 to 2009. In October 2016, he became the BBC's Director of Radio, in addition to his other role as the BBC's Director of Strategy and Digital, a job he had held since March 2013. In 2020, he left the BBC to become vice-chancellor of University of the Arts London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabian Hamilton</span> British politician

Fabian Uziell-Hamilton is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds North East since 1997. He served as Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament from November 2016 to September 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Miliband</span> British politician (born 1969)

Edward Samuel Miliband is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2010 to 2015. Alongside his brother, David Miliband, he served in the Cabinet from 2007 to 2010 under Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Thornberry</span> British politician (born 1960)

Emily Anne Thornberry, Lady Nugee is a British Labour politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005. She served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales from 2021 until the 2024 UK general election, and previously from 2011 to 2014. Thornberry has also served in a number of other senior positions on Labour's front bench, namely as Shadow Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2020, Shadow First Secretary of State from 2017 to 2020 and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade from 2020 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerry McCarthy</span> British politician (born 1965)

Kerry Gillian McCarthy is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol East since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, She was Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2015 to 2016. She has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Climate since July 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Austin</span> British politician

Ian Christopher Austin, Baron Austin of Dudley is a British politician who sits as a life peer in the House of Lords. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dudley North from the 2005 general election until the 2019 general election when he stood down. Formerly a member of the Labour Party, he resigned from the party on 22 February 2019 to sit as an independent, and was ennobled in the 2019 Dissolution Honours. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government from 2009 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premiership of Gordon Brown</span> Period of the Government of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2010

Gordon Brown's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 27 June 2007 when he accepted an invitation of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Tony Blair, and ended on 11 May 2010 upon his resignation. As prime minister, Brown also served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Leader of the Labour Party. He and Blair both extensively used the New Labour branding while in office, though Brown's style of government differed from that of his predecessor. Brown rescinded some of the policies which had been introduced or were planned by Blair's administrations. He remained committed to close ties with the United States and to the war in Iraq, although he established an inquiry into the reasons for Britain's participation in the conflict. He proposed a "government of all the talents" which would involve co-opting leading personalities from industry and professional occupations into government positions. Brown also appointed Jacqui Smith as the UK's first female home secretary, while Brown's former position as Chancellor of the Exchequer was taken over by Alistair Darling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Miliband</span> Chief executive of the International Rescue Committee and former British politician

David Wright Miliband is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Rescue Committee and a former British Labour Party politician. He was the Foreign Secretary from 2007 to 2010 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Shields in North East England from 2001 to 2013. He and his brother, Ed, were the first siblings to sit in the Cabinet simultaneously since Lord Edward and Oliver Stanley in 1938. He was a candidate for Labour Party leadership in 2010, following the departure of Gordon Brown, but was defeated by his brother and subsequently left politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LabourList</span> Left-wing media outlet based in the UK

LabourList is a British news website supportive of, but independent of, the Labour Party, launched in 2009. Describing itself as Labour's "biggest independent grassroots e-network", the site's content includes news, commentary, interviews, campaign information, analysis and opinion from various contributors and sources across the Labour and trade union movement. It is funded by trade unions, adverts, and individual donors. LabourList started as a weblog with reader comments, but in February 2019 the ability for readers to write comments was removed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Reeves</span> British politician (born 1979)

Rachel Jane Reeves is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds West and Pudsey, formerly Leeds West, since 2010. She previously held various shadow ministerial and shadow cabinet portfolios between 2010 and 2015 and from 2020 to 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stella Creasy</span> British Labour Co-op politician

Stella Judith Creasy is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Walthamstow since 2010.

The 2010 Labour Party leadership election was triggered on 10 May 2010 by incumbent leader Gordon Brown's resignation following the 2010 general election which resulted in a hung parliament; the first since 1974. Brown resigned as Leader of the Labour Party on 10 May and as Prime Minister on 11 May, following the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats forming a coalition government. The National Executive Committee decided the timetable for the election the result of which would be announced at the annual party conference. On 25 September 2010, Ed Miliband became the new Leader of the Labour Party, narrowly defeating his older brother, David Miliband.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justine Thornton</span> British judge and barrister (born 1970)

Dame Justine Thornton, styled The Hon Mrs Justice Thornton, is a British barrister and judge of the High Court of England and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Ed Miliband</span> Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015

Ed Miliband became Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition upon being elected to the former post on 25 September 2010. The election was triggered by Gordon Brown's resignation following the party's fall from power at the 2010 general election, which yielded a Conservative–Liberal Democrat Coalition. Miliband appointed his first Shadow Cabinet in October 2010, following the Labour Party Shadow Cabinet elections. These elections were the last such elections before they were abolished in 2011.

"Chaos with Ed Miliband" is a phrase from a 2015 tweet by David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, targeting Ed Miliband, Leader of the Opposition. On 4 May – a few days before the 2015 United Kingdom general election – Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, wrote on Twitter that the British public faced a choice between "stability and strong Government" with him, or "chaos with Ed Miliband", who was leading the Labour Party into the election. The political turmoil in the United Kingdom after the 2015 election, and in the wake of Cameron's resignation after the 2016 Brexit referendum, made the tweet "infamous".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labour Party leadership of Ed Miliband</span> Ed Milibands tenure as Leader of the Labour Party

Ed Miliband was elected as Leader of the Opposition in September 2010, following the resignation of Gordon Brown after the formation of David Cameron and Nick Clegg's Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government in the aftermath of the 2010 general election.

References

  1. ↑ "Ed Balls takes up new role with King's College London". www.kcl.ac.uk.
  2. ↑ Who's Who, published by A & C Black, (2001 edition); ISBN   0713654325
  3. ↑ "Andrew Balls PIMCO profile" . Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  4. ↑ "Ed Balls – 2005 Maiden Speech in the House of Commons – UKPOL.CO.UK". 13 April 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "Ed Balls". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  6. 1 2 Chorley, Matt (12 September 2010). "Ed Balls: Running his race to the beat of the people's drum". The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  7. ↑ "BBC Radio 3 – My Classical Favourites, Ed Balls". BBC. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  8. ↑ Nottingham Evening Post Saturday 3 March 1984, page 5
  9. ↑ Nottingham Evening Post Thursday 5 September 1985, page 11
  10. ↑ "The fighter –– Ed Balls". New Statesman . 22 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2011., he was a Bellringer at St Mary's church in Plumtree, Nottingham.
  11. 1 2 3 Rentoul, John (30 March 2011). "Origins of the Cameron-Balls Feud". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  12. ↑ Routledge, Patrick (8 March 1998). "Profile: Ed Balls – Brown's young egghead". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  13. ↑ Adams, Guy (5 July 2006). "Revealed: How Ed Balls was a Tory under Thatcher". The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009.
  14. ↑ Calder, Jonathan (13 October 2008). "Labour's private school heroes". New Statesman . Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  15. ↑ "New Report on Inclusive Prosperity Recommends Progressive Solutions". Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  16. ↑ "The Treasury 1997–2007". Ed Balls. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  17. ↑ "The Saturday Profile: Ed Balls, Treasury Adviser – Chancellor's golden". The Independent. 6 March 1999. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  18. ↑ Winnett, Robert (12 November 2007). "Call for inquiry over Balls's think tank". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  19. ↑ "MP Ed is calm over his future". Wakefield Express. 19 October 2006. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "Court rejects MP's seat challenge". BBC News . 13 October 2006. Archived from the original on 9 November 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  21. ↑ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster. "Hansard – House of Commons – 23 Apr 2007. col.754". Parliament.the-stationery-office.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ↑ "The House of Commons.2013.Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill 2012–2013". Publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  23. 1 2 "MPs flock to support Labour Israel group". The Jewish Chronicle. 22 September 2016. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  24. ↑ Hope, Christopher (24 September 2007). "Ed Balls claims £27,000 subsidy for second home". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  25. ↑ Hope, Christopher; Gammell, Kara (24 September 2007). "Ed Balls claims £27,000 subsidy for 2nd home". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  26. 1 2 3 Prince, Rosa (15 May 2009). "Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper 'flipped' homes three times: MPs' expenses". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  27. ↑ Balls, Edward; Cunliffe, Jon (September 2007). Economic aspects of peace in the Middle East (PDF). [London]: HM Government. p. 1. ISBN   9781845322571. OCLC   174129232. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  28. ↑ "School leaving age to rise to 18". BBC News. 4 November 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  29. ↑ "Darling leads race for next chancellor". Reuters. 22 January 2007. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  30. ↑ Curtis, Polly (14 October 2008). "Sats for 14-year-olds are scrapped". The Guardian . London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2008.
  31. ↑ Garner, Richard (15 October 2008). "National tests for 14-year-olds are scrapped after marking chaos". The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 22 February 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2008.
  32. ↑ "Tests scrapped for 14-year-olds". BBC News. 14 October 2008. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2008.
  33. 1 2 3 "Timeline of Baby P case". BBC News. 15 February 2012. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  34. 1 2 "Sharon Shoesmith sacked after Baby P scandal". The Daily Telegraph. London. 8 December 2008. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  35. ↑ Donovan, Tim (27 May 2011). "Profile: Sharon Shoesmith". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  36. 1 2 Harrison, Angela (1 April 2010). "Ofsted changed Shoesmith report". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  37. ↑ Butler, Patrick; Watt, Nicholas (27 May 2011). "Sharon Shoesmith turns on Ed Balls after court rules her dismissal unfair". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  38. ↑ "Sharon Shoesmith Sacking: Baby Peter director wins appeal". BBC News. 27 May 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  39. ↑ Holhouse, Matthew (29 October 2013). "Baby P boss Sharon Shoesmith's payout 'shocking'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009.
  40. ↑ "Children, Schools and Families Bill 2009–10". Services.parliament.uk. 8 April 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  41. ↑ "Home educators in record petition of MPs". BBC News. 9 December 2009. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009.
  42. ↑ "Ed Balls drops key education reforms". BBC News. 7 April 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  43. ↑ "Ed Balls joins race for Labour leadership". The Independent. 19 May 2010. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  44. ↑ Mulholland, Hélène (9 June 2010). "Who are the Labour leadership candidates?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  45. ↑ "Alan Johnson 'to quit front-line politics'". BBC News. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  46. ↑ "Labour's plan for jobs and growth". Labour Party. 19 October 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  47. ↑ Watt, Nicholas; Mulholland, Hélène (10 July 2012). "George Osborne faces Tory pressure to apologise to Ed Balls". Guardian newspapers. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  48. ↑ "Ed Miliband's office knew Ed Balls would lose for two weeks before polling day – but did not tell him". The Daily Telegraph. London. 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  49. ↑ Elliott, Larry (8 May 2015). "Defeat of Ed Balls gives Tories their 'Portillo moment'". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  50. ↑ "Ed Balls to get £88,000 'golden goodbye' as former MPs are handed £11.5m taxpayer payout". The Daily Telegraph. London. 10 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  51. ↑ Ed Balls [@edballs] (28 April 2011). "Ed Balls" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 23 August 2015 – via Twitter.
  52. ↑ Balls, Ed (28 April 2011). "Ed Balls". Twitter. Archived from the original on 23 August 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015. Ed Balls
  53. ↑ Victor, Daniel (28 April 2021). "Ten Years Ago, Ed Balls Tweeted 'Ed Balls.' How Is It Still Funny?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  54. ↑ Collins, Lauren (28 April 2014). "Happy Ed Balls Day". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  55. ↑ Sini, Rozina (28 April 2016). "Why people are celebrating Ed Balls Day". BBC News. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  56. ↑ Hooton, Christopher (12 February 2015). "Ed Balls signs and auctions his infamous tweet – then ruins it with 'best wishes'". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  57. ↑ "Ed Balls on Twitter: "Good grief.. but how could I say No? RT @YvetteCooperMP We've insisted he bake a cake. How else would you celebrate?". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  58. ↑ "Ex-MP gets in on the joke as National Trust defends decision not to hold dedicated celebrations". ITV News. London. 28 April 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  59. ↑ Victor, Daniel (28 April 2021). "Ten Years Ago, Ed Balls Tweeted 'Ed Balls.' How Is It Still Funny?". The New York Times.
  60. ↑ "10 years. Happy #EdBallsDay @edballs!". Twitter. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  61. ↑ "Christ. Can it really be 10 years? Happy Ed Balls Day". Twitter. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  62. ↑ "The Fabian Society – Narrowing the Gap: The final report of the Fabian Commission on Life Chances and Child Poverty". Fabians.org.uk. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  63. ↑ "Ed Balls 'Next Decade' lecture: Britain's Next Decade". The Fabian Society. 1 November 2006. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  64. 1 2 "Interview: Ed Balls". New Statesman. 20 March 2006. Archived from the original on 2 January 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  65. ↑ Goslett, Miles (12 August 2007). "Taxpayers foot bill for Ed Balls 'junket'". The Daily Telegraph . London. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008.
  66. ↑ "Like Ed Balls at Bilderberg, have you ever been refused entry to somewhere important?". The Guardian . 30 May 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  67. ↑ "Bilderberg guests include George Osborne and Ed Balls". BBC News . 12 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  68. ↑ "Ed Balls Announced as Visiting Professor". King's College London. Retrieved 15 July 2019.[ permanent dead link ]
  69. ↑ "Wicked Young Writer Awards". www.wickedyoungwriterawards.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  70. ↑ "ED BALLS BECOMES NEW NORWICH CITY CHAIRMAN". Norwich City F.C. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  71. 1 2 "Ed Balls: Norwich City name ex-shadow chancellor as chairman". BBC Sport. 27 December 2015. Archived from the original on 3 January 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  72. ↑ "Profile: Ed Balls". The Telegraph. 26 October 2007. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  73. ↑ Ed Balls to stand down as Club Chairman Norwich City FC, 1 December 2018Archived 31 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  74. ↑ Conlan, Tara (10 December 2015). "Samantha Cameron and Ed Balls to mix it up in Great British Bake Off special". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  75. ↑ "Ed Balls revealed as the first Strictly celeb of 2016!". 8 August 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  76. ↑ "Don't mock – Ed Balls on Strictly Come Dancing is smart politics". The Guardian . 1 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  77. ↑ Hogan, Michael (30 October 2016). "Strictly Come Dancing Halloween results: Ed Balls hip-thrusts through as Anastacia gets eliminated". The Telegraph. telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  78. ↑ "Bafta TV awards 2017: full list of winners". The Guardian . 14 May 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  79. ↑ Summers, Hannah (27 November 2016). "Ed Balls leaves Strictly Come Dancing after 'fabulous three months'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  80. ↑ Balls, Ed (2016). Speaking out : Lessons in Life and Politics. Hutchinson. ISBN   9781786330390.
  81. ↑ "Ed Balls calls Corbyn leadership a 'leftist fantasy'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 3 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  82. ↑ Wollaston, Sam (29 July 2018). "Travels in Trumpland with Ed Balls review – a Lycra-clad quest to understand the US". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  83. ↑ "BBC Two – Travels in Euroland with Ed Balls – Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  84. ↑ Dale, Iain (25 September 2017). "The 100 Most Influential People On The Left: Iain Dale's 2017 List". LBC. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  85. ↑ "Ed Balls' Ballpit story – Would I Lie to You? [HD][CC]". YouTube . 20 November 2017. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  86. ↑ "BBC One – Celebrity Best Home Cook". BBC.
  87. ↑ "Ed Balls | City Lit". www.citylit.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  88. ↑ "Care Group Features In High Profile TV Documentary". The Carer UK. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  89. ↑ "Carer's Challenge to Minister over Ed Balls Documentary". The Carer UK. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  90. ↑ "BBC One – Who do You Think You Are?, Series 18, ed Balls".
  91. ↑ "Ed Balls' family's heartbreaking decision involving his mother". 30 November 2021.
  92. ↑ Rachel Cunliffe (15 September 2023). "Ed Balls and George Osborne's banal centrism". New Statesman . Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  93. ↑ Davies, Caroline (17 January 2024). "Ed Balls kicks Susanna Reid in the head on Good Morning Britain". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  94. ↑ Maddox, David (7 August 2024). "Ed Balls interview with home secretary wife receives 8,201 complaints as watchdog issues warning to Elon Musk". The Independent.
  95. ↑ Youngs, Ian (7 August 2024). "Good Morning Britain show prompts 8,200 complaints". BBC News.
  96. ↑ ""Debrett's People of Today 2011", Extract Editions". 2011. p. 77. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  97. ↑ "Health minister celebrates birth". The Telegraph. 27 August 2001. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  98. ↑ Woodward, Will (24 January 2008). "Youth and loyalty rewarded with promotion to PM's top team". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  99. ↑ "The Cabinet: Who's Who". BBC News. 30 November 2009. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  100. ↑ "Ed Balls MP becomes BSA patron". Speaking Out. British Stammering Association. Winter 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  101. ↑ Riddell, Mary (23 January 2010). "Ed Balls: People who stammer avoid certain situations, but in my job you can't". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  102. 1 2 "Ed Balls fined for going through red traffic light". BBC News. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  103. ↑ "Shadow chancellor Ed Balls fined over car accident". BBC News. 5 August 2014. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  104. ↑ "Coalition (2015 TV Movie) Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Internet Movie Database. Winter 2010. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  105. ↑ Duran, Anagricel (11 September 2023). "Watch Robert Peston and Ed Balls perform with new band Centrist Dad" . Retrieved 17 September 2024.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Normanton
2005–2010 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament
for Morley and Outwood
2010–2015 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Economic Secretary to the Treasury
2006–2007		Succeeded by
Preceded byas Secretary of State for Education Secretary of State
for Children, Schools and Families
2007–2010		Succeeded byas Secretary of State for Education
Preceded byas Shadow Secretary of State
for Children, Schools and Families 		Shadow Secretary of State for Education
2010		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Home Secretary
2010–2011		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
2011–2015		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Fabian Society
2006–2007		Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by Chairman of Norwich City F.C.
2015–2018		Succeeded by
James Stedman Cullen
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.