55 Facts About Ed Balls

Edward Michael Balls was born on 25 February 1967 and is a British broadcaster, economist and former politician who 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.

Ed Balls was a teaching fellow at Harvard from 1988 to 1990, when he joined the Financial Times as the lead economic writer.

Ed 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, Ed Balls was elected as the MP for Normanton, and in 2006 became Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

When Brown became Prime Minister in 2007, Ed Balls became Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, serving until the 2010 general election; Labour were defeated after 13 years in government.

Ed Balls was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Education under Harriet Harman 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.

Ed Balls 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.

Ed Balls was appointed chairman of Norwich City FC in December 2015, a position he held until December 2018.

Ed 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.

Ed Balls is currently a presenter for the ITV breakfast show Good Morning Britain.

Ed Balls discussed the importance of lifelong learning and his time at City Lit as well as his memoir Appetite.

Ed Balls received a City Lit Lifetime Fellowship Award as recognition for the support and inspiration he provided to adult education provider City Lit and its students.

Ed Balls' father is zoologist Michael Ed Balls; his mother is Carolyn Janet Riseborough.

Ed Balls's grandfather was a lorry driver and died of cancer when Balls was young.

Ed Balls joined the Labour Party in 1983 while still at school.

Ed 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.

Between 1988 and 1990, Ed Balls was a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University.

Ed Balls 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 Ed Balls continued to work as his economic adviser, eventually becoming Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury.

In July 2004, Ed 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.

Ed Balls stepped down as Chief Economic Adviser to HM Treasury, but was given a position at the Smith Institute, a political think tank.

On 5 February 2013, Ed Balls voted in favour in the House of Commons Second Reading vote on marriage equality in Britain.

Ed Balls was a member of the Labour Friends of Israel.

Ed Balls became Economic Secretary to the Treasury, a junior ministerial position at HM Treasury, in the Cabinet reshuffle of May 2006.

When Gordon Brown became Prime Minister on 27 June 2007, Ed Balls was promoted to Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.

At the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Ed 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.

In 2007 Ed Balls was considered to be given the post of Chancellor, but the role was given to Alistair Darling.

In October 2008, Ed Balls announced that the Government had decided to scrap SAT tests for 14-year-olds, a move which was broadly welcomed by teachers, parent groups and opposition MPs.

In December 2008, following the case of the Death of Baby P, Ed 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.

Shoesmith subsequently brought a Judicial review against Ed Balls, Ofsted and Haringey Council and a series of appeals followed.

Ed Balls received compensation as her sacking was deemed "procedurally unfair" and the Department for Children, Schools and Families was refused leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Ed Balls sponsored the Children, Schools and Families Bill, which had its first reading on 19 November 2009.

Ed 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 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.

Together with Miliband, Ed Balls promoted a "five-point plan for jobs and growth" as Shadow Chancellor.

Ed Balls declared in January 2012 that he would continue with the public sector pay freeze which led to opposition from Len McCluskey.

Ed Balls 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.

The tweet was retweeted by thousands; Ed Balls was unaware that it was possible to delete tweets.

When invited to send something to be auctioned to raise funds for the party in 2015, Ed Balls submitted a framed, signed printout of the tweet.

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

Ed Balls has played a prominent role in the Fabian Society.

Ed Balls was elected Vice-Chair of the Fabian Society for 2006 and Chair of the Fabian Society for 2007.

Ed Balls has been a central figure in New Labour's economic reform agenda.

Ed Balls was a member of the Labour Friends of Israel.

Ed Balls was appointed as the chairman of Norwich City FC in December 2015, the football club he supports.

Ed Balls was partnered with Katya Jones, a Russian professional dancer.

Ed Balls described Jeremy Corbyn's leadership project as a "leftist utopian fantasy, devoid of connection to the reality of people's lives".

In September 2017, Ed Balls was placed at Number 74 in 'The 100 Most Influential People on the Left' by commentator Iain Dale.

In January and February 2021, Ed Balls was the winner in BBC One's Celebrity Best Home Cook.

Ed Balls married Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who later became Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Shadow Home Secretary, in Eastbourne on 10 January 1998.

In September 2010, the British Stammering Association announced that Ed Balls had become a patron of the association.

In June 2013, Ed Balls was fined for going through a red light in December 2012.

Ed Balls has admitted speeding in April 2013 and using his mobile phone while driving during the 2010 general election campaign.

Ed Balls said he knew that the cars had touched, but did not stop to check as he did not think any damage had been done.

Ed Balls was portrayed by Nicholas Burns in the 2015 Channel 4 television film Coalition.