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.

Balls' father is the zoologist Michael Balls, criticised for campaigning against the grammar school system in Norfolk, then sending his son to fee-paying schools. 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. 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.

Andrew Ferguson Neil (born 21 May 1949) is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster.

He currently works for the BBC, presenting the live political programmes The Daily Politics on BBC Two, The Sunday Politics on BBC One and This Week on BBC One. For the BBC he also anchors Straight Talk with Andrew Neil and makes documentaries.

He is also Chairman of Spectator Magazines; Chairman of ITP Magazines (Dubai); and Chairman of World Media Rights (London).

Neil made his name at The Sunday Times where he was editor for 11 years. In 1995 he was made editor-in-chief of the Press Holdings group of newspapers, owner of The Business and (from 2005) The Spectator, moving up to become chairman in July 2008.

Neil was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire. He grew up in the Glenburn area, and attended the local Lancraigs Primary School. Aged 11, Neil passed his 11-plus examinations and sent to the then academically selective Paisley Grammar School. His father was a professional soldier who had worked his way up through the ranks; his mother worked in the local cotton mills.^{[citation needed]}

David William Donald Cameron (pronunciation: /ˈkæmərən/; born 9 October 1966) is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. He represents Witney as its Member of Parliament (MP).

Cameron studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Oxford, gaining a first class honours degree. He then joined the Conservative Research Department and became Special Adviser to Norman Lamont, and then to Michael Howard. He was Director of Corporate Affairs at Carlton Communications for seven years.

He was defeated in his first candidacy for Parliament at Stafford in 1997, but was elected in 2001 as the Member of Parliament for the Oxfordshire constituency of Witney. He was promoted to the Opposition front bench two years later, and rose rapidly to become head of policy co-ordination during the 2005 general election campaign. With a public image of a youthful, moderate candidate who would appeal to young voters, he won the Conservative leadership election in 2005.

Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Leigh since 2001. He served in the Cabinet under Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Culture Secretary and Health Secretary. He was a candidate in the 2010 Labour leadership election, coming fourth out of five candidates. Burnham was initially appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Education within Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet, but was moved back to the Shadow Department for Health in a reshuffle.

Burnham was born Old Roan, Aintree, Lancashire (now Merseyside), the son of a telephone engineer father and a receptionist mother, and brought up in Culcheth, near Warrington where his family moved to when his father was promoted to a job in Manchester. He was educated at St. Lewis' Primary School and St Aelred's Roman Catholic High School (now St Aelred's Catholic Technology College) in Newton-le-Willows, Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, before moving on to study English at London Metropolitan University.

George Gideon Oliver Osborne,MP (born 23 May 1971 in Paddington, London) is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.

Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in Ireland as the Ascendancy. He is the heir to the Osborne baronetcy (of Ballentaylor, in County Tipperary, and Ballylemon, in County Waterford).

He was educated at St Paul's School and Magdalen College, University of Oxford, before entering politics.

Osborne is the eldest of four sons. His father, Sir Peter Osborne, 17th Baronet, co-founded the firm of fabric and wallpapers designers Osborne & Little. His mother is Felicity Alexandra Loxton-Peacock, the daughter of artist Lady Clarisse Loxton Peacock.

Originally named Gideon Oliver, he changed his name to George when he was 13. In an interview in July 2005, Osborne said: "It was my small act of rebellion. I never liked it. When I finally told my mother she said, 'Nor do I'. So I decided to be George after my grandfather, who was a war hero. Life was easier as a George; it was a straightforward name."