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

@Blackberryandapplejam

will the Labour Party remain in perpetual opposition, now they have Jeremy Corbyn as leader?

I have a chapter in my book called 'Opposition' which says that there is basically nothing good about being in opposition at all. It's important we have a strong opposition, but it's really frustrating. I'm worried that too many people in the Labour Party are currently thinking that being in permanent opposition is okay. But you can't stand up for people who need a better deal unless you can change things and that's what governments do. Having a crowd of supporters cheering you is all very well but it is voters in the ballot box who decides who is in government.

@Peanutbutterjellytime123

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)

The chapter about my stammer called 'Vulnerability' was the hardest to write but I think the most important in the book. I started out my political career thinking that no politician could ever admit to a flaw or weakness and then discovered I had a stammer. The advice I received was that I had to be public about it and doing so would reduce the anxiety. I didn't believe that and resisted it for two years. But it was great advice and when I started to talk about my stammer I found it relieved a lot of pressure and made me a better communicator in speeches and on television. I hope that me talking about this publically will help more people to get help and become more confident about being open about having a stammer. The fact is, you can be a pop singer, a radio presenter or a Cabinet Minister and have a stammer - you just have to accept that it's part of who you are.

@okeyhokeycokey

Have you had a spray tan yet?

Goodness me, no! I thought this whole spray tan thing was a joke, but Jeremy Vine just told me he had one every week. It was bad enough having spangles on my shirt but, as of today, spray tan and plunging necklines is a step too far.

Hello Ed!

In your opinion, which is more important for Labour MPs? Loyalty to the party membership, or loyalty to their constituents/ the voters who put them in office?

@KimmySchmidtsSmile

Hi Ed

You looked very smiley on Strictly.
What is Katya like?
Is your first dance ballroom or Latin?
Are you going to jive to Great Balls of fire?
Did you consider calling your book Strictly speaking?
Sorry. Will come back tomorrow with political questions
I won't they will all be glitter related

Good luck x

Katya.. well... she definitely thinks I should have a spray tan. She is hugely talented, a world champion many times and has spent all morning in a dance studio saying to me: do it again, do it again, do it again...

In what ways would you say ballroom dancing is like politics?

(My answer: 99% of the work is invisible and unapplauded ...)

@RortyCrankle

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.

The first chapter in my book is all about that election night and what it felt like to lose. Lots of people said my speech the next morning was very calm but that was because I did feel calm. I was disappointed for my campaign team and really disappointed we had lost the election but a little bit relieved that I wasn't going to have five more years in opposition. I think you are right that so far this has been a very tough Parliament for Labour MPs.

I know you're here to talk about your book and Strictly, but please can you answer some politics questions? There is a serious lack of informed political debate going on in this country .... any contribution you can make will be very useful!

Do you think Brexit has to go ahead? Which way did you vote?

@Merrylegs

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

Whether we are in the Premier League or the Championship we definitely have the best catering at Norwich City! My favourite Delia recipe is her Christmas roast goose with prunes and armagnac. I would definitely recommend it.

@ilovesooty

What is your strategic plan for Norwich City over the next five years?

Our strategic plan is to get back to the Premier League and to stay there without compromising the club's values and commitment to being a community club which puts its supporters first.

@user1473155205

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.

I am currently doing grade 5, but the step up from grade 4 is really big. I am playing Bach, Glier and Bartok and I'm really worried about sight reading. I have found learning something new from scratch really therapeutic but it has driven Yvette and the family mad at times. After 20 years in politics it was time to do something new but I really miss the way a constituency MP can make a difference to the individual lives of people who need help. I miss the purpose that government and politics can bring.

Never thought I'd say this, but we need politicians like you back in the driving seat of the Labour Party or we're screwed! Who would you suggest might be ones to watch within the CLP for the future? Or do you think that Statespersonship is dead now?

re Corbyn (because that felt like a bit of a politician's answer ) - how conscious are you about criticising your successors - do you try to actively avoid doing it? Are you wary of being cast as the bitter old guard? Ed Miliband's approach (something like 'well it turns out I don't know what the British public want so I'm not in a position to offer advice') always seemed like a gracious one to me.

It's just that I think there are a lot of (possibly urban, middle class, educated, middle aged) desperate ex-Labour voters out here who would love a friendly face to properly get stuck in to this god-awful mess... Would you rather poke out your eyeballs than get back into professional politics?

@MrsHathaway

In what ways would you say ballroom dancing is like politics?

(My answer: 99% of the work is invisible and unapplauded ...)

In politics I am sure there is a lot of hair dye, spray tan and make up used... But the men don't admit it. I don't think there is much glitter. But you are right - loads of MPs work really hard solving problems which by their nature can never be publicised or celebrated.

Ed, three Qs if you've got time?

I'm a LP member and I'm really struggling to explain to new members why the Blair/Brown years aren't a shameful blot with nothing worth keeping about them. How would you respond?

And ...
what was going on in your mind when you realised that everyone had noticed your first tweet?

And..
Is there a rising tide of misogyny in society, specifically against 'public' women like MPs?

Thanks.

I hate to be pedantic, but you were the shadow Home Secretary when the FSS closure was announced (10th December 2010).
For me the closure has worked out well, but it's bad news for the country imo as a lot of the leading researchers have moved abroad.

@woeface

Hello Ed!

In your opinion, which is more important for Labour MPs? Loyalty to the party membership, or loyalty to their constituents/ the voters who put them in office?

In politics you always have to remember that it is the voters who decide who gets elected and forms a government. Party members have a really important role to play but Members of Parliament have to make sure they put the views of voters first.

In politics I am sure there is a lot of hair dye, spray tan and make up used... But the men don't admit it.

This isn't the place for sexist jokes. Really.

@ImperialBlether

Do you think Brexit has to go ahead? Which way did you vote?

I voted to Remain, not because I thought Europe was perfect by any means but because I thought we could have more influence on reforming the EU from the inside and because I thought re-negotiating our relationship with the Single Market would be very difficult. But it's really important to respect the result and get on with sorting out the future. It's all very well ministers saying "Brexit means Brexit" but I don't think anyone yet properly knows what that means.

plain

Is there a rising tide of misogyny in society, specifically against 'public' women like MPs?

You'd only have to go and look at the Twitter timelines of female Labour MPs right now to see that there is. Jess Phillips and Angela Eagle's are eye opening...

Ive got a crush on you. Are you free?

@randomer

Ive got a crush on you. Are you free?

I'm done here in 25 minutes...

@EdBalls

[quote randomer] Ive got a crush on you. Are you free?

I'm done here in 25 minutes... [/quote]

Very sorry, Katya says I've got to get back to the dance studio - training comes first!