The Right Honourable Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 May 2010
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	David Laws
Secretary of State for Scotland
In office 12 May 2010 – 29 May 2010
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Jim Murphy
Succeeded by	Michael Moore
Member of Parliament for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2005
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Majority	8,765 (18.6%)
Personal details
Born	(1972-05-15) 15 May 1972 (age 40)[1] Edinburgh, Scotland
Political party	Liberal Democrats
Spouse(s)	Rebecca Hoar (m. 2005–present)
Children	Two daughters (Isabel Rose, born July 2007 and Isla, born May 2010)
Alma mater	St Anne's College, Oxford
Profession	Public relations
Website	Danny Alexander MP

Daniel Grian Alexander (born 15 May 1972) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been Chief Secretary to the Treasury since 2010. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey constituency since 2005.

In his first parliamentary term (2005-2010), Alexander was the Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions, the chief of staff to party leader, Nick Clegg, and Chair of the Liberal Democrat Manifesto Group (2007–2010).

With the 2010 UK general election producing a hung parliament, he played a key role in the four-man Liberal Democrat negotiating team and in the drawing up of the coalition document for the new Coalition Government with the Conservative Party. Alexander was initially appointed Secretary of State for Scotland,^[2] but at the end of May 2010, he was promoted to Chief Secretary to the Treasury, following the resignation of David Laws.^[3]

Early life and education[link]

Born in Edinburgh, Alexander lived on the island of Colonsay as a boy before his family moved to Glengarry. He was educated at Lochaber High School, Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, before reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at St Anne's College, Oxford.^[4]

Early career[link]

In 1993 and 1994, Alexander worked as a press officer with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, before spending eight years as the Director of Communications at the European Movement (1996–1999) and its successor organisation, the Britain in Europe campaign (1999–2004).

In 2004 and 2005, he was the Head of Communications for the recently formed Cairngorms National Park Authority.

Member of Parliament[link]

Alexander was elected to the newly formed constituency of Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey in the 2005 UK general election. He won the seat from David Stewart, who was previously the Labour MP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, the basis of the new constituency. In August 2005 it was revealed that Christopher Haskins, Baron Haskins of Skidby, a Labour peer who was a friend of Alexander, had donated £2,500 to Alexander's campaign; subsequently Haskins was expelled from the Labour party for this action.^[5]

Front bench spokesman[link]

At the start of the new parliament in 2005, Alexander was appointed by party leader Charles Kennedy as a junior spokesman for Work and Pensions, responsible for disability issues, where he contributed to debates on incapacity benefit reform, the Child Support Agency and the Turner Report on future pension provision in the UK. He was also a member of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee (2005–2008).

In 2007, he was appointed as Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Social Exclusion for six months, before becoming Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, holding the post until June 2008. He gave this post up to focus on his role as chief of staff to the new party leader, Nick Clegg, as well as his responsibility for leading the preparation of the party's election manifesto.^[6]

Chief of Staff[link]

In June 2008 Alexander gave up his role shadowing the Work and Pensions brief to become Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg.^[7] As part of his role Alexander became the main author of the 2010 Liberal Democrat General Election manifesto and became a confidant of the leader.^[8] His close relationship with Clegg is thought to have been central to his subsequent meteoric rise.^[9] After the election Alexander became one to the key negotiators in the coalition discussions with the Conservatives and played a key role in the negotiating of the Coalition agreement alongside Oliver Letwin.^[10]

Coalition Government[link]

Following the 2010 general election, Alexander was part of the Liberal Democrats key negotiating team alongside Chris Huhne, David Laws and Andrew Stunell that brokered the agreement to go into a governing coalition with the Conservatives.^[11] He was initially appointed Secretary of State for Scotland for the coalition government, then was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury after the resignation of David Laws on 29 May 2010.^[3] He was appointed as a Privy Counsellor on 13 May 2010.^[12]

Secretary of State for Scotland[link]

Following the negotiations between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, Alexander was appointed to the cabinet as the Secretary of State for Scotland making him one of five Liberal Democrats to serve in the cabinet. Speaking about his approach to the role Alexander said it was "about ensuring the UK government can also work together with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament" and added "we've got a programme for government which we've set out which I think will deliver enormous benefits to the people of Scotland." ^[13]

As part of his role Alexander was given responsibility to implement the recommendations of the Calman Commission which was to give more fiscal powers to the Scottish Parliament, the promise to implement the proposals had formed part of the coalition agreement.^[14] (See also: Scotland Bill 2011)

In his first official visit to Scotland in his new capacity Alexander was accompanied by the Prime Minister David Cameron for a series of meetings with the First Minister Alex Salmond. Cameron called for a fresh start in relations between the parliaments in Westminster and Holyrood and committed to appearing every year to answer questions at the Scottish Parliament. Speaking of the coalitions support for the Calman Commission findings Cameron said "I believe, and Danny believes, we should be pursuing the Calman agenda. That is a much greater degree of fiscal autonomy for Scotland. I think that is right and that is what we want to put in place".^[15]

Alexander's tenure as Scottish Secretary was short lived however and just over two weeks from his appointment on 29 May 2010 he was promoted to the role of Chief Secretary to the Treasury following the resignation of David Laws. Michael Moore, MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, replaced Alexander as Secretary of State for Scotland.^[16]

Chief Secretary to the Treasury[link]

The move to the Treasury and the effective number two position to chancellor George Osborne marked the continuation of a remarkable rise for Alexander who was now beginning his second cabinet post in under a month. The role effectively put Alexander in charge of the government's deficit reduction plan - a position of power which he particularly relished.^[17]

Capital gains tax controversy[link]

Two days after being appointed to his new position, the Daily Telegraph newspaper published front-page allegations that Alexander had exploited a legal loophole to avoid the payment of capital gains tax on a property he had sold in 2007 alleging that he had profited from a "morally dubious" loophole to avoid paying capital gains tax. Just a few days earlier, the same newspaper had caused the resignation of Alexander's predecessor David Laws after finding irregularities in his expenses claims. The paper suggested that "the fact that Mr Alexander has become the second Lib Dem to face questions about his finances within three days has focused attention on whether the party leadership has properly audited the financial activities of its senior figures".^[18]

Alexander had bought the property in question, a London flat, in 1999 and, after being elected to parliament for a Scottish constituency in 2005, designated the property as his "second home" whilst claiming that his first home was now in his constituency, the property was then sold in 2007 for a profit on which he paid no capital gains tax.^[19] As the property was the only one he owned however, up until 2006, HM Revenue and Customs rules meant that capital gains tax was not payable as should someone find a buyer for their home within three years the property qualifies for relief from [capital gains tax] as long as the property has been the only or main home at some point. Speaking at the time Alexander said "I have always listed London as my second home on the basis set out in the parliamentary rules as I spent more time in Scotland than I did in London."^[20] The Daily Telegraph itself claimed that "there is no suggestion that Mr Alexander has actually broken any tax laws".^[21] Indeed, a few years earlier the Daily Telegraph had given advice to its readers in a financial column to behave the same way Alexander had.

2010 Spending Review[link]

On 8 June 2010 Alexander and the Chancellor George Osborne announced details of how they would conduct the governments spending review which would set spending limits for every government department for the period from 2011-12 up until 2014-15. As part of the review due to be announced on 20 October 2010 a star chamber was established chaired by both Osborne and Alexander designed to scrutinize the spending plans of each government department.^[22] Shortly after the announcement of how the review would take place Alexander announced on 17 June 2010 that £2billion worth of projects agreed by the previous Labour government would be cancelled. The projects included an £80million loan to Sheffield Forgemasters and the cancellation of a £25million visitors centre at Stonehenge. Labour attacked the plans as an "attack on jobs" but Alexander countered by saying that the previous government had gone on a "pre-election spending spree in the full knowledge that the government had long since run out of money."^[23]

Following the announcement on the cancellation of projects Alexander worked closely with the Chancellor George Osborne to produce an emergency budget on 22 June 2010 which announced a series of measures designed to reduce the United Kingdoms budget deficit. Measures included a rise in the rate of VAT from 17.5% to 20% starting in 2011, a rise in Capital Gains Tax from 18% to 28% and the introduction of a levy on the banks designed to raise £2billion a year.^[24] Defending the budget against allegations that it disproportionately hit the poor hardest Alexander described it as "fair" and "progressive" saying "this is a Budget that protects the most vulnerable - especially children in poverty and pensioners - while ensuring those with the broadest shoulders take the greatest share of the burden.".^[25]

Following the budget and in the intervening period until the spending review Alexander found himself at the heart of controversial spending decisions made by the government. A series of leaked letters from cabinet ministers showed that the spending review was causing strain within government departments including within the Department of Work and Pensions when a memo from Osborne to Iain Duncan Smith suggested that deep cuts to the welfare budget had already been agreed, prompting accusations by Labour that the cuts were a "vicious" and an attack on the poorest in society. In response Alexander said "I am not going to comment on a leaked letter but what I will say is that with welfare spending making up nearly £200bn, of course it is something we have to look at in the context of the spending review."^[26] Further controversy came when the Treasury announced that the Ministry of Defence would have to include the £20billion replacement of Trident within their budget on top of potential cuts of potentially up to 10 and 20%.^[27] The Secretary of State for Defence himself Liam Fox later wrote to David Cameron in another leaked letter saying that cuts in defence spending would seriously damage troops' morale.^[28] Ken Clarke however, the Secretary of State for Justice, said that he was "relishing" life back at the centre of government and said that the discussions on the spending review he had with Danny Alexander were "rather informal but quite intense and serious."^[29]

On 19 October 2010, the day before the spending review was announced in the House of Commons, Alexander was photographed reading a memo which showed that as a result of the cuts the government would be announcing up to 490,000 public service jobs could be lost. The figure contained within confidential briefing papers came from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).^[30] On 20 October 2010 the chancellor George Osborne announced the findings of the review which included the claim from the OBR. Other key points from the review included an average 19% cut in departmental budgets, the desire to eliminate the structural deficit by 2015, £7bn extra in cuts to welfare spending and a move for the retirement age to be increased to 66 for both men and women by 2020.^[31] In a letter to Liberal Democrat members Alexander defended the cuts by saying "When we came into office, we inherited an economy that was on the brink. With the largest budget deficit in Europe and no plan for tackling it, Britain faced huge economic risks. These could only be dealt with by a clear plan to deal rapidly with the worst financial position this country has faced for generations." Despite the scale of the cuts announced Alexander, in his letter, went on to claim that the burden had been spread fairly by ensuring that key public services relied on by the most vulnerable in society had been protected. He emphasised the announcement of the 'fairness premium' designed to help the poorest children and noted that key transport projects had been given the go ahead as well as the announcement of a green investment bank.^[32]

Bank lobbying[link]

It was reported in the Independent in December 2011 that Danny Alexander had been involved in meetings^[33] with bankers lobbying to avoid proposals in the Vickers Report^[34] that were intended to reduce risks in the banking industry. The talks were alleged to be secret, but were obtained via a Freedom of Information request.

North Sea Oil Windfall Tax[link]

Alexander caused controversy after giving a speech to a group of businessmen that a £10 billion windfall tax on North Sea oil revenue in the 2011 budget was his idea.^[35] The move has been estimated to cost up to 40,000 jobs^[36] and have repercussions for the economy of Aberdeen.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Alexander married Rebecca Hoar in July 2005 in Chippenham. They have two children, Isabel,^[37] (b. 2007), and Isla,^[37][38] (b. 2010), and live in Aviemore.^[39] He met his wife while working for the European Movement in London. She is a features editor for Psychologies magazine.

In October 2010 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Harriet Harman criticised Alexander during her speech at the Labour Party's Scottish Conference making a personal insult referencing his red hair. The incident generated controversial media attention and Alexander responded stating he was "proud" of his hair colour. Harman later apologised, admitting her conduct was "wrong".^[40][41]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Danny Alexander

• Profile at HM Treasury
• Danny Alexander MP official constituency site
• Danny Alexander on Twitter
• Danny Alexander MP Liberal Democrats profile
• Danny Alexander MP Scottish Liberal Democrats profile
• Danny Alexander MP Highland Liberal Democrats profile
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Danny Alexander Profile at New Statesman Your Democracy
• Danny Alexander at the Internet Movie Database
• Speech at LibDem 2008 conference
• Danny Alexander - Profile Ethos Journal profile of Danny Alexander

v t e Cameron cabinet (list) Cameron · Clegg Alexander · Cable · Clarke · Davey · Duncan Smith · Gillan · Gove · Greening · Hague · Hammond · Hunt · Lansley · May · Mitchell · Moore · Osborne · Paterson · Pickles · Spelman · Strathclyde · Warsi Also attending: Letwin · Maude · McLoughlin · Willetts · Young When on agenda: Grieve Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement · Coalition government

v t e Secretaries of State for Scotland of the United Kingdom Scotland Office Secretary of State for Scotland 1707–1746 Erskine · Douglas · Erskine · Graham · Ker · Vacant · Hay Secretary for Scotland 1885–1926 Gordon-Lennox · Trevelyan · Ramsay · Balfour · Kerr  · Trevelyan · Bruce · Murray · Hope · Sinclair · McKinnon-Wood · Tennant · Munro · Munro Ferguson · Adamson · Gilmour Secretary of State for Scotland 1926–1999 Gilmour · Adamson · Sinclair · Collins · Elliot · Colville · Brown · Johnston · Primrose · Westwood · Woodburn · McNeil · Stuart · Maclay · Noble · Ross · Campbell · Ross · Millan · Younger · Rifkind · Lang · Forsyth · Dewar Secretary of State for Scotland 1999–present Reid · Liddell · Darling* · Alexander* · Browne** · Murphy · Alexander · Moore Also Secretary of State for Transport; **Secretary of State for Defence

v t e Chief Secretaries to the Treasury Brooke · Boyd-Carpenter · Diamond · Macmillan · Jenkin · Boardman · Barnett · Biffen · Brittan · Rees · MacGregor · Major · Lamont · Mellor · Portillo · Aitken · Waldegrave · Darling · Byers · Milburn · Smith · Boateng · Browne · Timms · Burnham · Cooper · Byrne · Laws · Alexander

v t e Ministers of Her Majesty's Treasury Chancellor of the Exchequer Second Lord of the Treasury George Osborne Other Ministers Danny Alexander (Chief Secretary to the Treasury) · Mark Hoban (Financial Secretary to the Treasury) · Chloe Smith (Economic Secretary to the Treasury) · David Gauke (Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury) · Lord Sassoon (Commercial Secretary to the Treasury)

The Right Honourable Ed Balls MP
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 January 2011
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Alan Johnson
Shadow Home Secretary
In office 8 October 2010 – 20 January 2011
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Alan Johnson
Succeeded by	Yvette Cooper
Shadow Secretary of State for Education
In office 11 May 2010 – 8 October 2010
Leader	Harriet Harman Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Michael Gove (CSF)
Succeeded by	Andy Burnham
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Alan Johnson (EaS)
Succeeded by	Michael Gove (E)
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
In office 6 May 2006 – 28 June 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Ivan Lewis
Succeeded by	Kitty Ussher
Member of Parliament for Morley and Outwood
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Majority	1,101 (2.3%)
Member of Parliament for Normanton
In office 5 May 2005 – 6 May 2010
Preceded by	Bill O'Brien
Succeeded by	Constituency Abolished
Majority	10,002 (51.2%)
Personal details
Born	(1967-02-25) 25 February 1967 (age 45) Norwich, Norfolk, England
Political party	Labour Co-operative
Spouse(s)	Yvette Cooper
Children	Ellie Joe Maddy
Alma mater	Keble College, Oxford Harvard University
Profession	Economist
Religion	Church of England[1]
Website	Official website

Edward Michael Balls, (born 25 February 1967) is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Morley and Outwood since 2010, and is the current Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. From 2005 to 2010, he was the MP for Normanton and he served in the Cabinet from 2007 to 2010.

Balls is married to current Shadow Home Secretary and fellow Labour MP Yvette Cooper. In 2008 they were the first married couple to serve together in a British Cabinet.

Early life[link]

Balls' father is the zoologist Michael Balls,^[2] criticised for campaigning against the grammar school system in Norfolk, then sending his son to fee-paying schools.^[3] Balls was born in Norwich and educated at Bawburgh Primary School in Norwich, Crossdale Drive Primary School in Nottinghamshire, and then the private all-boys Nottingham High School, where he played the violin.^[4][5] He went on to attend Keble College, Oxford, where he gained a First in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (graduating ahead of David Cameron), and later Harvard, where he was a Kennedy Scholar specialising in Economics.^[6]

Balls joined the Labour Party when he was 16 years old.^[7] Whilst at Oxford he was an active member of the Labour Club, but also signed up to the Conservative Association, "because they used to book top-flight political speakers, and only members were allowed to attend their lectures" according to friends.^[8] Whilst at Oxford he was a founding member of the all-male drinking club, The Steamers.^[9][10]

Economist[link]

He joined the Financial Times as a writer in 1990 until his appointment as an economic adviser to Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown in 1994. When Labour won the 1997 general election, Brown became Chancellor and Balls continued to work as an economic adviser to him. He went on to serve as Chairman of HM Treasury's Council of Economic Advisers.

While he was chief economic adviser to the Treasury, Balls attended the Bilderberg annual conference of politicians, financiers and businessmen in 2001 and 2003, and returned to the United Kingdom on Conrad Black's private jet on both occasions. In 2010 when after details were reported in the press, Balls commented, "It saved the taxpayer the cost of a plane fare and on both occasions I declared it at the time to the permanent secretary in the normal way."^[11]

Political career[link]

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, Bill O'Brien, was retiring. He stepped down as chief economic adviser to the Treasury, but was given a position at the Smith Institute, a political think tank. HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office confirmed that "the normal and proper procedures were followed."^[12]

Member of Parliament[link]

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 boundary changes which would abolish the constituency, Balls ran a campaign, in connection with the local newspaper the Wakefield Express,^[13] 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 challenge against the Boundary Commission's proposals.

In March 2007 he was selected to be the Labour Party candidate for the new Morley and Outwood constituency, which contains parts of the abolished Normanton and Morley and Rothwell constituencies.^[14]

Cabinet[link]

Balls became Economic Secretary to the Treasury, a junior ministerial position in HM Treasury, in the government reshuffle of May 2006. When Gordon Brown became Prime Minister on 27 Jun 2007, Balls was promoted to Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.

In October 2008, Balls announced that the government had decided to scrap SATs tests for 14-year-olds,^[15] a move which was broadly welcomed by teachers, parent groups and opposition MPs.^[16][17] The decision to continue with SATs tests for 11-year-olds was described by head teachers' leader Mick Brookes as a missed opportunity.^[18]

Balls sponsored the Children, Schools and Families Bill which had its first reading on 19 November 2009.^[19] Part of the proposed legislation will 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.^[20]

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.^[21]

Labour leadership election[link]

At the 2010 general election, Balls narrowly won the newly-created Morley and Outwood seat with 37.6% of the vote.^[22][23] The general election resulted in a hung parliament, with the Conservatives having the most votes and seats, but no overall majority. Several days after the election, on 11 May, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats announced that they would form a coalition government, shortly after Gordon Brown resigned as both Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party.

Balls announced, in Nottingham, on 19 May 2010 that he was standing in the election to replace Brown. 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, who would go on to win.

Shadow Cabinet[link]

New Labour 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 due to "personal reasons" led Miliband to announce Balls as Labour's Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.^[24] As Shadow Chancellor, Balls regularly appears with Miliband at joint press conferences relating to Labour policy. Together with Miliband, Balls has promoted a "five-point plan for jobs and growth" since he took office as Shadow Chancellor. The plan is described as aimed at helping the UK economy, and involves a bonus tax on banks, 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.^[25]

Political activities[link]

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.^[6][26]

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^[27] and opened the Society's Next Decade lecture series in November 2006,^[28] arguing for closer European cooperation on the environment.

Balls has been a central figure in New Labour's economic reform agenda. He and Gordon 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".^[29]

"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", said Balls.^[29]

Personal life[link]

He married Yvette Cooper MP, who later became Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in Eastbourne on 10 January 1998.^[30] Cooper is Member of Parliament for Morley & Outwood's neighbouring constituency of Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford. They have three children.^[31] Cooper and Balls were the first married couple to serve together in the British cabinet.^[32]

In 2010 Balls was fined £60 and given three points on his licence for talking on his mobile telephone whilst driving.^[33]

Ed Balls is a fan of Norwich City.^[34]

In September 2010, the British Stammering Association announced that Balls had become a patron of the Association. Its Chief Executive, Norbert Lieckfeldt, paid tribute to him for having been very public in his declaration that he has at times struggled with his speech.^[35][36][37]

Allegations over allowances[link]

In September 2007, with his wife Yvette Cooper MP, 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.^[38] 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) in order 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."^[39]

Balls and Cooper "flipped" the designation of their second home three times within the space of two years, to take advantage of the expenses system.^[40]

See also[link]

• Ed Balls document leak

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ed Balls

• Ed Balls official constituency website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted

v t e Brown Cabinet Cabinet Members Lord Adonis • Bob Ainsworth • Douglas Alexander • Baroness Ashton • Ed Balls • Hilary Benn • Hazel Blears • Ben Bradshaw • Gordon Brown • Des Browne • Liam Byrne • Andy Burnham • Yvette Cooper • Alistair Darling • John Denham • Peter Hain • Harriet Harman • Geoff Hoon • John Hutton • Alan Johnson • Tessa Jowell • Ruth Kelly • Lord Mandelson • David Miliband • Ed Miliband • Jim Murphy • Paul Murphy • James Purnell • Baroness Royall • Jacqui Smith • Jack Straw • Shaun Woodward Also Attended Meetings Margaret Beckett • Nick Brown • Lord Drayson • Caroline Flint • Lord Grocott • John Healey • Jim Knight • Lord Malloch-Brown • Pat McFadden • Tony McNulty • Baroness Scotland Attended While on Agenda Beverley Hughes • Sadiq Khan • Dawn Primarolo • Rosie Winterton