Webchat with Ed Balls, Tuesday 6 September at 2pm

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello,

We’re pleased to announce a webchat with Ed Balls on Tuesday 6 September at 2pm.

Ed was a senior Labour MP from 2005 to 2015 and before that served as Gordon Brown’s key economic adviser at the Treasury. In Cabinet he served as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, and was later Shadow Chancellor for four years under Ed Miliband.

He is a now a Senior Fellow at Harvard University and a Visiting Professor at King’s College London, as well as Chairman of Norwich City FC. A year on from the election which brought it to an unexpected end, Ed Balls reflects on his life in politics in Speaking Out - a book about a politician who thought he might become the country’s next Chancellor on the night of 7 May 2015, but who woke up the next morning without a job.

Ed has long been admired from a distance by many Mumsnet users. Please do join the chat on Tuesday at 2pm, or if you can’t make it, leave a question here in advance.

As always, please do keep in mind our webchat guidelines - one question each (follow-ups if there’s time) and politeness at all times.

Thanks
MNHQ

Photo credit: Chris Harris

Okay, I have a political question.
Do you believe the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will actually be successful under its FOURTH chair Alexis Jay, or do you think the whole thing has been handled really badly and did you believe the 114 missing files were wilfully destroyed, if so, by whom?

Hi Ed! I'd love to know who is the nicest person you've met throughout your career? In politics or a celebrity from your various TV appearances

Hi Ed. I don't have a question but just wanted to say I live in your former constituency and voted for you! I was gutted when you lost your seat as you seemed to me a good local MP despite your high profile and commitments in Westminster - I often saw you around the area and you visited my dcs' school a couple of times.

Also I'm a massive strictly fan so good luck for that

Hi Ed - how did you manage a 2 parent 3 children household with two demanding parental careers? How do you split the jobs? And what form of childcare do you use?

Have you ever read a book that completely changed your life? If yes, what was it and why?

Labour has dug itself into a hole, thanks to the way the leaders are chosen and the kind of people you have had as leaders starting with Blair. What do you think can be done to make Labour a viable opposition? A lifelong Labour voter, I have voted for the Tories the last 2 times because of the appaling Leadership the Party had.

Hi Ed, wish I was there tday to put some questions to you, as I am not, here is the questions . What do you miss most about being in Politics, and will you continue doing your grades in panio, I took music lessons in 2010, different instrument mine was the bass, luckily only had to learn tablature, admire you for learning all about notation scales etc really difficult when juggling work/family.

Hi Ed,

I know Brexit seems like so long ago now, but I was just wondering how you felt about the whole sorry situation?

Also as someone who has an anxiety based stutter and younger family members with stutters it's great to see that it doesn't hold people back (You were also ace on Bake off)

Are you now pleased you weren't successful at the last election? Watching Labour implode may be interesting viewing for us Conservatives but it must be hell being on the inside.

How close is Labour to splitting?

Hi Ed!

Thanks for giving your time to us busy mums! Your strictly appearances will be a welcome relief from the disaster of Brexit and will lift the nation. My question is, would you consider running for a seat in parliament again or does your future solely lie with show business now?

Thanks

Have you had a spray tan yet?

Eds's in the building and will get going right away.

Hi everyone,

Very sorry to be late, I've just dashed over from the BBC where I was on the Jeremy Vine show and he had so much advice to give me about the show!

We had better get on with it...

OTBC! If Delia invited you for dinner(no doubt she has) what would you like her to cook?

I'd like to know the answer to sellowtape's question, too

@thedaisymeadow

He had an awesome shirt on strictly Saturday night

Thanks TheDaisyMeadow. Lots of people thought that the hoops on that shirt weren't too flattering and that maybe I need to go for vertical stripes! My plan is to train hard and lose a few pounds.

@Littleoakhorn

What advice would you give to an aspiring MP?

My book, Speaking Out, which is published today was partly written with my mother-in-law in mind - to explain to her why she and the family had to put up with so much over the last 20 years; but also I was trying to give advice to my 27 year old self with lots of tips I wish had been given when I left the Financial Times to work with Gordon Brown over 20 years ago.

@ginghambox

Will you admit that the labour party when in government deliberately encouraged unlimited immigration to improve your chances of winning future elections?

I won't admit that because it's not true.
We as a country have always had people from other countries who come to work and live here, just as lots of British people go and work abroad. We need their skills and new ideas, especially in the NHS. But immigration needs to be controlled and managed and the rules must be fair. The last Labour government strengthened controls - we did not have or want unlimited immigration as you suggest. But we did not have transitional controls on migration from Eastern Europe after 2004 when we could have done and that was a mistake.

Hello Ed.

Given the comments you made about losing the last election (i.e. that you were taken out of the loop and it was all Ed Miliband's fault) - if you are voted out on Strictly, will you blame all of that on your partner too?

@Sellotapewillfixit

Hi Ed - how did you manage a 2 parent 3 children household with two demanding parental careers? How do you split the jobs? And what form of childcare do you use?

It was really hard, especially when Yvette and I were both in the Cabinet in charge of schools and work and pensions. We always tried to keep weekends as clear as we could and hugely relied on my mother-in-law. Lots of parents struggle to balance work and family and we were the same - and we didn't tend to find that sellotape would fix it!

@chameleon43

I ran the same London marathon as you a few years back and chatted to you for a while en route. Are you planning to run any more?

How many did you run? I did three. All the other runners were so supportive, especially a man who gave me emergency ibuprofen at mile 14. I will never forget being overtaken by a woman running while hula-hooping the whole way around. My goal was to get below 5 hours and I managed 4.57 but I would love to do it again. I'd ran for two charities, Action for Stammering Children and Whizz-Kidz and I would love to run it for them both again in 2017. Are you up for it?

Would you ever try to get another parliamentary seat? Or do you think that moderates won't have that opportunity for over a decade, with Momentum pushing for moderate deselections?

@DrDreReturns

Ipswich fan here - what on earth possessed you to support Norwich!!!

On a more serious note - I used to work for the Forensic Science Service until it was closed down five years ago - you were shadow Home Secretary at the time. Why didn't you oppose the closure more vigorously? I remember thinking that the opposition wasn't really challenging the government about that decision. In hindsight, do you think it was a good idea to commence the privatisation of forensic science provision (this was mainly done under Labour's stewardship)?

I was born in Norwich and was a canary fan before I could walk or talk - there are some things which are very deep.

I think we did challenge that government decision but it happened after I was Shadow Home Secretary - how have things worked out?

@IanMcDougall1 asks on Twitter:

What band would you have had to endorse you at a press conference?