Ed Balls was interviewed by the
Mirror today. In the interview he makes this ludicrous claim...
I started studying it [the economy] in 1983 when Thatcherism was at its peak - and I realised immediately that I wanted to show you could run an economy in a way which delivered social justice. All through my university days and my career I've been driven by the desire to prove that Labour could run the economy well. We now hear that unemployment is heading back to three million under the Tories. If anything makes me want to lead our party it's the chance to do something about it.
All well and good, except that Mr Balls's memory is clear at odds with reality. Because as is now public knowledge, at university he was a member of the Oxford University Conservative Association...
This bombshell news, which lay unreported for 20 years, has emerged thanks to Philip Hollobone, Tory MP for Kettering, and a former member of the Oxford University Conservative Association. He tells me that Balls signed up to OUCA, whose previous members include half the Shadow Cabinet, while at Keble College in the 1980s. I was there from 1984-87, and at that time Ed Balls was also a member of OUCA," says Hollobone. "It was well before he was famous, but I was secretary for one term and can distinctly recall the name."
(The Independent, 5 July 2006)
Iain, you've missed an "i" out of "run" in the 4th line.
ReplyDeletehmm - many people joined all the university political clubs, just to attend the speaker-meetings
ReplyDeletesome further and better particulars needed here
like ... a photo of Balls in nazi uniform ?
Iain, as anyone who has ever been near OUCA will tell you, it has an enormous membership. As any ex-Secretary will also be able to tell you, that's because the elections have been systematically dodgy for decades.
ReplyDeleteFor every person who joins OUCA, four are "joined" by election candidates, who fill in the forms and pay the costs for friends of theirs - their political affiliation is unimportant as long as they are prepared to vote the right way.
In exchange, the social events were always quite good.
Balls and Hollobone
ReplyDeleteOoer Matron.
WV: dican But can she?
Are there no Tories that believe in Social Justice?
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, a lot of people joined the Young Conservatives for social reasons and not ideological ones. Indeed some were simultaneously members of the Youth Wings of the SDP, Labour, and Liberals
ReplyDeleteMight be worth quoting a bit more of the article:
ReplyDelete"Ed hasn't exactly advertised the fact, but he's never sought to hide it either. It even featured in the jokes at his wedding," I'm told.
"He joined the Tories at Oxford because they used to book top-flight political speakers, and only members were allowed to attend their lectures.
"Ed was, however, also a member of the Labour Club. He was more active in that, and was always, at heart, a man of the left."
Not quite so damning when you have the full picture, is it?
Everyone was a member of OUCA in those days, they had the best speakers and best events.
ReplyDeleteOf course, you, being an alumnus of University of East Anglia, wouldn't understand... (I had to get some Oxbridge snobbery in somewhere didn't I?)
Iain: er, everyone with a vague political interest joins party club at Oxford. Only way to get the free drinks/food/occassional decent speaker.
ReplyDeleteHis name is a godsend to the tories, isn't it. Keep 'em coming Iain.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to link to that article from the Indy, which explains *why* Balls joined OUCA?
ReplyDeleteIf you don't, you are going to look pretty dishonest.
@ robertmbrown
ReplyDeleteAnd your definition of 'Social Justice' is what, exactly?
Leaving aside the actual subject, this is pure Balls:
ReplyDelete"All through my university days and my career I've been driven by the desire to prove that Labour could run the economy well. "
The last 10 years proves otherwise.
Why, if Balls was such an economic leviathan, was the British Government borrowing £30 billion a year from 2003-2007? Keynesian teachings are that you should fix the roof while the sun is shining. Either the sun wasn't actually shining or Labour cocked up. I favour the former hypothesis - the economy was not as rosey as Brown painted it to be.
It would be nice to have some logical consistency from *any* politicians, starting with the ones most culpable for the mess we are in.
"Balls talks balls"
ReplyDeleteHas a nice ring to it every time...
We now hear that unemployment is heading back to three million under the Tories
ReplyDeleteThere they go again - blaming the Tories for their ill-deeds. Blimey, the coalition has only been in government for a few weeks. Quite an achievement for them to make 3 million unemployed in that time!
(a) You haven't linked to the full article which actually explains why he joined
ReplyDelete(b) Even now, people join to vote for their mates/see good speakers, and often don't take an active role in the club. It's a bit like most of the people where I live who are card-carrying members of the Conservative Party not because they are Conservatives, but because the beer's cheap
Iain, you've missed the point. THIS IS THE LIE
ReplyDelete"We now hear that unemployment is heading back to three million under the Tories. If anything makes me want to lead our party it's the chance to do something about it."
Unemployment is heading back to 3M BECAUSE of ED BALLS and his master.
"We now hear that unemployment is heading back to three million under the Tories. If anything makes me want to lead our party it's the chance to do something about it."
ReplyDeleteThe real figure of unemployment in April was c. 4.5 million. It was kept lower by deliberately massaging the figures so that only a handful of people counted as unemployed - barely half the true figure. The rest were flung on various income supports, and part time work, the black economy, no money at all, etc. Labour didn't care about them, because they care about figures not about the poor or unemployed.
So if unemployment is down to under 3 million already, that's a very good start by the coalition, although personally I find it rather difficult to believe.
This man is a complete f*****g idiot. Is he really suggesting that the unemployment Labour created is
ReplyDeleteof the new Governments making? It's quite pathetic.
According to the ONS the number of people of working age NOT in work as of March 2010 was 8.17 Million
ReplyDeletehttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=12
Remind me who the government was in March 2010 Ed.
Also would someone please explain to me a definition of social justice
So, Balls joined a political party not because of his principles but because of the perks.
ReplyDeleteSuch integrity!
Iain, this is my first comment on your blog. I enjoy reading a lot.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that as an ex-OUCA member and an ex-Ox Union President, this story shouldn't damage Balls.
When I was at Oxford (1997-2001), people of all political persuasions joined OUCA. The organisation was something of a laugh, in that the membership was vast and the piss-ups extravagant, but really it wasn't a true Conservative association. Indeed, many left-wingers joined in order to act as spoilers in elections, and to turn up at boozy OUCA parties. If Balls is to be mocked for this, then many others will have be too.
Which faction did he ally himself with? I remember a Balls in Ouca but did not until today realise it was Balls who has gone up in the world!
ReplyDelete