News about Ed Balls

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper faced claims that she had undervalued her now-infamous tickets to watch Taylor Swift in concert after The Mail on Sunday established that she and her family had enjoyed prime seats in the Royal Box at Wembley Stadium worth up to £1,000. Ms Cooper - who attended the concert with husband Ed Balls and two of their children after being involved in controversial talks which led to the singer receiving a police escort - told the Parliamentary authorities that each ticket had been worth £194.75. That placed it under the minimum £300 required for gifts to be declared.

He has reportedly split from his UK-based talent management team, YMU.

The Home Secretary referenced the Taylor Swift song as she discussed the controversy over the US singer being given a blue-light escort. She told political journalists that her husband Ed Balls, a former Labour Cabinet minister, had advised her to 'shake it off' whenever she finds herself at the centre of media storms.

Katya Jones is part of the furniture on the BBC favourite Strictly Come Dancing. The Russian dancer and choreographer, 35, joined the ballroom show in 2016 for its 14th series where she was partnered with the former Shadow chancellor, Ed Balls.  For the 15th series, Jones partnered the Holby City actor, Joe McFadden, where they were the series winners. But her time on the show has not been without difficulty or controversy - making headlines for a 'heated argument' with one ex partner and of course her well-known cheating scandal with Seann Walsh.

It is the story of a power struggle with a power couple, and it helps to explain the dysfunction at the heart of Sir Keir Starmer's tumultuous first 100 days in power. Insiders say that one of the main reasons for the rift between former chief of staff Sue Gray and Morgan McSweeney - who took Ms Gray's job last week after she was effectively sacked by the Prime Minister - was his marriage to Labour MP Imogen Walker, a fast-rising Parliamentary aide to Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The sources claim Ms Gray regarded the marital link as a threat to her powerbase. Along with the Prime Minister and Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Ms Reeves is part of the ministerial 'Holy Trinity' which takes key Government decisions.

The Labour freebie row continues to rumble on as it's revealed the Home Secretary enjoyed free tickets to a Taylor Swift gig where the singer was given a police escort. Former Labour minister Ed Balls was given four tickets by her music label on August 4 and Yvette Cooper - who is his wife - went to the concert as his guest on August 16. And later that same month, Ms Cooper and London Mayor Sadiq Khan encouraged the Met Police to give Swift a 'VVIP escort' through London for her Wembley Stadium concerts.

When he resigned from Parliament in a lobbying scandal, Owen Paterson 's reputation was in tatters. But the former Tory Cabinet minister is battling to clear his name - with a powerful new ally. I can disclose that Sir Anthony Hooper KC, a former Appeal Court judge, has raised serious questions about the case. In November 2021, the all-party ­Commons privileges committee branded Paterson's work for two firms 'an ­egregious case of paid advocacy'. It ­recommended his suspension from Parliament for 30 days. He quit as the MP for North Shropshire and the Tories lost the subsequent by-election.

Kate, 57, grabbed hold of her co-host's flesh in an attempt to show how hard you have to clench to leave a red mark. 'We had a debate in the newsroom about how hard is too hard and we were actually quite surprised... and I think you have to pinch quite hard to get a red mark,' Kate said. Ed, who was the children's secretary from 2007 to 2010, whips out a handheld 'pinch-cam' for a close up view of his face for the bizarre segment. Kate was egged on as people were heard in the background shouting 'do it' before she grabbed hold of his cheek.

During Monday's episode, TV presenter Ed, 57, who is known for his typically outspoken nature, left ITV fans' switching off' their TVs.

QUENTIN LETTS: When political ­conferences finish it is sometimes said the cheers and applause resound through the ether long after the last delegate has left the hall. After this week's Labour Party conference in Liverpool, all that echoes through my sore bean is a low, depressing drone. Is it a punctured bagpipe, a pregnant ewe, some Merseyside fog horn or an air-block in the conference-season hotel plumbing? No, it is the Left-wing voice. 'Fourteen years of Tory misrule… ­£22 ­billion black hole… politics of service… my father was a toolmaker.' Insistent, gloomy, it makes everything sound worse than it is. Nagging. Puts you just on edge. If you have ever heard the mew of buzzards circling overhead, you will know the sensation.

Ed Balls has revealed how his Home Secretary wife Yvette Cooper saved him from playing the role of a 'paedophile' in Strictly Come Dancing movie week. The Good Morning Britain presenter and former Cabinet minister was a contestant on series 14 of the BBC competition and survived until week 10.  He was coupled up with professional dancer Katya Jones who told him after his 'cautious' week one waltz that he needed to 'let go' and assume the character he was dancing for his week two Charleston.

The Good Morning Britain presenter, who was economic adviser to the former chancellor, made the claim while contrasting the two former Labour prime ministers. Mr Brown was Chancellor during Mr Blair's premiership between 1997 and 2007 before becoming PM himself. While Mr Brown was regarded as the more left-wing Scotsman, Mr Blair was seen as appealing to gentrified middle-class professionals. But speaking on the Walking the Dog podcast, Mr Balls says their political views were closer than people thought, and Mr Brown was more of a champagne socialist in a literal sense.

GLEN OWEN: Yvette Cooper comes across as an island of calm in a government which appears to be losing its collective head. The Home Secretary entered Parliament as an elfin 28-year-old in 1997, during Tony Blair's era of rigid control and message discipline. She is now one of the most senior members of an administration which appears to be tearing itself apart over freebie clothes and Chief of Staff Sue Gray's divisive influence. Has she - as the Starmers did at the hands of Labour's Waheed Alli - ever received clothes paid for by a donor? 'I had a shawl that was given to me on a visit,' says Ms Cooper, striking a puritan contrast with the £16,000 of clothing received by the Prime Minister - before swiftly reciting the agreed line that 'the important thing is that everything is declared according to the rules'. Ms Cooper, who entered the Cabinet with husband Ed Balls after Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in 2007, must be sucking her teeth in private over the maelstrom in No 10, which is starting to put even Mr Brown's stapler-throwing efforts in the shade.

The broadcaster's chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall made the promise as media watchdog Ofcom announced it would not pursue an investigation. Thousands of people made official complaints to the regulator about the episode of the breakfast show on August 5 which included Ms Cooper being questioned over the Labour government's handling of last month's UK-wide riots. Her husband Mr Balls - a former Labour MP and Education Secretary- was presenting the programme alongside Kate Garraway on the morning his wife was interviewed. Dame Carolyn today said: 'Would we do it again? No. Was it impartial, fair and balanced? And did they behave professionally? Yes.'

A veteran Good Morning Britain host has returned to screens.

It's time to get your glitter and dancing shoes ready as Strictly is officially back for the 20th anniversary series.  After a year plagued by scandal amid the BBC's misconduct investigation, the show returned with all the bells and whistles on Saturday night as loyal viewers tuned in.  With 15 new celebrity couples set to take to the dancefloor, the pairings were revealed during the launch show as the series officially kicked off. 

Leigh Francis has finally revealed the real person who inspired his comic alter-ego Keith Lemon - and it's not who you'd expect. The 51-year-old comedian appeared on Good Morning Britain on Thursday and left hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls stunned when he explained the story behind the persona.

Kate Garraway has revealed she had an 'out of body experience' while accepting the gong for Derek's Story at the NTAs last night. The 57-year-old said the award was a 'total tribute' to her late husband as she received congratulations from colleagues Susanna Reid and Ed Balls on Good Morning Britain just hours after the awards show ended. In an speech alongside her two children Darcey, 18, and Billy, 15, the night before the broadcaster had teared up on stage and called winning the award for best Authored Documentary 'bittersweet'. She revealed this morning she was left asking if she had 'made any sense' as she walked off the stage as the emotion of the moment got to her and her family, with the event itself taking place close to Kate's 20th wedding anniversary with Derek. There was little time to celebrate the victory or reminisce on the past though, with Kate arriving in the GMB studio this morning for her regular presenting duties with the NTA trophy in hand.

The reality star, 27, opened up on how her undiagnosed ADHD affected her post-Love Island life before she was finally diagnosed at the age of 24.

During Tuesday's instalment of the ITV daytime programme, Ed, 57, looked rather sheepish as he appeared on the panel alongside Susanna Reid, 53, to discuss winter fuel cuts. His wife Yvette Cooper, who has served as Home Secretary since July, recently voted to cut winter fuel payments for around 10 million pensioners who do not receive pension credit. 

Ed Balls has hailed legendary voice actor James Earl Jones and how he managed his stammer in an emotional tribute to the Star Wars star after his death aged 93. The award-winning actor, best known for voicing two of cinema's most iconic characters: Star Wars' Darth Vader and The Lion King's Mufasa - sadly passed away on Monday. The screen icon rose not only from humble beginnings in Depression-era Mississippi, but he also overcame a speech impediment as well. He originally thought his stutter was a 'curse' as children in school would 'fall to the floor in laughter' when he spoke but he didn't let that stop him. He often credited his English teacher - and poet - Donald Crouch who truly helped him through and had him stand in front of the class and read out his poetry. Today, Good Morning Britain presenter Ed Balls, 57, - whose own speech impediment was famously mocked by David Cameron in the Commons in 2012 - paid tribute to the actor and praised Jones' journey.

Ed Balls was pummelled by Chris Eubank Jr. as a horrified Susanna Reid gasped: 'My goodness!' during a chaotic Good Morning Britain boxing showdown on Wednesday. Chris Eubank Jr., 34, is a former IVO super-middleweight world champion boxer, and the son of Chris Eubank, 58, also a former world champion. He fought Ed the 'British Bruiser', 57, with Susanna, 53, hilariously announcing the fight in true boxing style, describing Ed has '5'9 and something of a GMB legend'. Contrary to Ed's zero fights - 'this kind at least!' - and zero wins, Susanna described Chris as having on 33 out of 36 fights, with 24 knockouts. Susanna asked: 'Can Ed survive 20 seconds of non-stop body punches from one of boxing's biggest hitters?'

The segment was sparked by a survey result which indicated that 75 percent of people believe men ought to keep their shirts on unless they're at a pool or a beach.

Good Morning Britain viewers vowed to 'switch off' on Thursday and demanded that Ed Balls and Kate Garraway were replaced after the ITV show sparked a whopping 8,200 Ofcom complaints. Breakfast programme GMB received 8,200 Ofcom complaints after Ed Ball and Kate Garraway's interview with MP Zarah Sultana on Monday. Zarah, 30, MP for Coventry South, was on the programme to discuss the government's reluctance to label the ongoing nationwide riots as 'terrorism'.  Ed, 57, separately faced criticism along with GMB for the decision to interview his own wife, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, on the issue of the nationwide riots. On Thursday, Ed and Kate, 57, again returned to the programme and fans could not contain their ire at seeing them again.