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Articles tagged with Ed Balls
Labour needs to see the Lib Dems for who they really are
by Emma Burnell / 14 Jan 2013 15:29
The Lib Dems are not the party some of Labour’s soft left like to think they are. This is not to denigrate the Lib Dems in any way. Most of the people I know who share this opinion are – in fact – Lib Dems. It’s quite insulting to them to be held up in the imagination of others as a left wing party with an interest in civil liberties. They believe the Lib
The new blue? Labour's cross-party wooing
by Anoosh Chakelian / 02 Oct 2012 10:46
Party tribalism. Something the public loves to hate in its political cabals battling to run the country from the thick of Westminster’s guerrilla territories, and something our war-painted politicos on all sides perennially condemn as an obstruction to policy-building, while sharpening their poison darts in the undergrowth.
But the Labour Party at this year’s conference seems to be kicking this loyalty to the clan, harnessing the exasperated mood of an electorate fatigued by
Ed Balls provides a cross-party vision of Britain
by Ben Duckworth / 01 Oct 2012 11:58
Before Ed Balls strode onto the conference stage in Manchester, one Labour figure told me he expected the shadow chancellor to go all out on the attack. "It worked for Gordon Brown, and it's what George Osborne did in opposition," he said. Well, it turns out Balls had higher ambitions than merely attacking David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Of course, he bashed them. "Same old Tories, every one of them" yelled Balls, purposely including
Imagine if our MPs never 'chillaxed'
by Sadie Smith / 21 May 2012 12:07
I’ve often thought that there should be a flow-diagram issued to all new MPs to assist them in predicting how the press and the public will criticise them with respect to any given circumstance.
You’re not in the Chamber? So you’re probably loafing around the subsidised Commons bars chatting up interns. You are in the Chamber? Huh, alright for some. You should be in your constituency listening and helping with the concerns of
Miliband and Balls start election week in a cheery mood
by Caroline Crampton / 30 Apr 2012 12:09
The chemistry between Ed Miliband and Ed Balls at their joint Q &A today was the strongest I’ve seen it in a long time – they were slapping each other on the back, finishing the other’s sentences, making jokes together – a veritable bromance. They had ostensibly set up the event to talk about falling living standards and the news that the UK is now in a double-dip recession, although usual form with these
Greg Mulholland wins the MPs’ marathon
by Caroline Schelle / 23 Apr 2012 13:17
Seven MPs ran the London Marathon yesterday, raising a total of over £63,000 so far for a range of charities and causes.
The original number of MPs set to run was eight, but Phillip Lee Conservative MP for Bracknell had to pull out the day before due to a hamstring injury. In a statement on his donation page he announced that he was ‘gutted’ to be out of the marathon but will compete
Don't get complacent, Labour
by Emma Burnell / 17 Apr 2012 10:24
Three polls came out yesterday showing Labour 10-11 points ahead in the polls. The Tories are as low in the polls as they have been since the formation of the coalition government. The government’s credibility is in free-fall. For the first time in one of those polls, Osborne and Balls are neck-and neck for who could best manage the economy. Meanwhile the budget debates stumble on, each week seemingly bringing a new issue arising
Ed should be posing with ‘old crusties’ not fresh pasties
by Francesca Preece / 29 Mar 2012 09:50
It seems George and David have bitten off more than they can chew.
After hitting the nation, and probably bankrupting their ‘fave pasty store’, Greggs, with a bizarre tax on heated foodstuffs, the terrible two have made unconvincing noises about their love of the pastry staple.
Their attempt to diffuse pastygate has backfired massively. Instead of explaining why on earth they had decided to put small bakeries out of business, the Tories
A dull Budget could make for an exciting chance for Labour
by Caroline Crampton / 21 Mar 2012 11:38
There is general agreement among commentators, I think, that today’s Budget is not going to be the kind that will thrill and excite you (if they ever are). But then, why should it? We’re halfway through a Parliament, there’s been no significant change in the economic outlook in the last few months, and there isn’t really any more money to play with. As Danny Finkelstein very aptly put it in his Times column
Who's working on the Budget?
by Amber Elliott / 13 Mar 2012 15:32
If you want to know which of the Labour Treasury team to watch out for come Budget day, it seems that Rachel Reeves will handle the immediate rebuttal following the debate on 21 March, while Ed Balls will do follow-up media next Thursday.
Yesterday, the Labour frontbench team briefed their main arguments ahead of next week's Budget.
Ed Miliband and Ed Balls talked of reversing cuts to child tax credits and working
Ed and Ed preview their Budget thinking
by Amber Elliott / 12 Mar 2012 13:06
The first thing that George Osborne should do in next week's Budget is change course.
That was Ed Miliband's message this afternoon as he and Ed Balls stood in a boiling room on the top floor of the Southbank Centre.
It was their sort of pre-Budget briefing, and their big line was to stress that George Osborne supports tax cuts for those earning above £150,000.
Ed Miliband proposed "clear, costed ways
The historical hangovers of David Cameron and Ed Balls
by Ben Duckworth / 19 Jan 2012 18:15
It’s been a day of capitalism in Westminster. Two months ago I watched Richard Branson talk about the end of business as usual. Today, I sat in the same building on the Haymarket in central London listening to David Cameron explain why it was time to ‘build a better economy’. Now was the time for a ‘people’s capitalism’ said a Conservative prime minister– a curious phrase which sounds like China’s economic system. However, don’t
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