Has Yvette Cooper ruled herself out of shadow chancellorship?

Shadow welfare secretary backs her husband Ed Balls on the deficit

By James Macintyre Published 15 September 2010 15:38

Westminster rumour has it that Yvette Cooper, the shadow work and pensions secretary, is being lined up to be shadow chancellor. The logic is that Ed Balls has made it impossible to serve in that role, certainly under David Miliband, having said he disagrees with Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling -- and David Miliband -- on the need to halve the deficit in four years. Balls has stated:

I told Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling in 2009 that - whatever the media clamour at the time - even trying to halve the deficit in four years was a mistake.

Some say, too, that Ed Miliband, who has been more ambiguous about the deficit reduction plan, would anyway be reluctant to put Balls in such a senior position after the two men's relationship has suffered considerably during this campaign. Cooper is seen as a sensible choice because, insiders say, "you get some of Ed in there" without having Balls himself, while Cooper is an economics expert and former financial journalist in her own right.

But in a little-noticed interview on the BBC's Daily Politics today, Cooper backed her husband's position and not that of Darling and David Miliband. In Labour-land, that is significant because it means that on the logic of Balls being ruled out of the shadow chancellor job, Cooper now is out of the running too.

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Tags: Labour

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9 comments

Thu, 2010-09-16 10:09 — Clem the Gem

Balls has made a pretty good job of sticking it to the coalition in Parliament, and deserves a chance at shadow Chancellor, but I am suspicious of any "husband and wife " team in politics - smacks of cronyism.
Our politicians are increasingly coming from the same social backgrounds, and are simply not living in the same world as the rest of us.

Wed, 2010-09-15 15:56 — Des Demona (not verified)

She hasn't taken her husband's name?

Ahhh - Effette Balls - say no more.

Wed, 2010-09-15 15:56 — David Vinter (not verified)

That's it, let the wife do the housekeeping! Balls can go fishing, a good working class family for the unions.

Fri, 2010-09-17 08:38 — Dylan (not verified)

Des Demona - My Mum knows of some parents with the surname Balls, who genuinely named their daughter 'Ophelia'.

You can sort of see their thought process - let's try to disguise our beautiful daughter's unfortunate surname with a Shakespearean Christian name.

I like to picture them first discovering their exacerbation at the Christening. As the vicar asperses water over the child's crown he proclaims, "I baptise 'Oh-feel-yer Balls' in the name of the Father, the Son and..."

The initiation is interrupted by a collective cacophonous din from the congregation - pissing themselves laughing.

Wed, 2010-09-15 18:36 — swatantra

Mustn't assume that husband and wife agree on everything. Yvette would do a good job taking Osborne apart. Ed would do ok as Business Sec taking Cable apart. The Millibands could jobshare Home Office and Justice, and Dianne could retire to the back benches as before, or become womens Minister.

Tue, 2010-09-21 13:26 — Tom (not verified)

Clem the Gem - both Yvette Cooper and Ed Balls were active in Labour politics from the early '90s - Ed writing Fabian pamphlets while a journalist at the FT, before going to work for Gordon, while Yvette worked for John Smith, Bill Clinton and Harriet Harman, then leaving to work for the Independent for a while. They didn't marry till 1998, by which stage Yvette was an MP and Ed was the Chancellor's advisor. There's really no cronyism there.

Wed, 2010-09-15 21:48 — Sue Marsh (not verified)

PLEASE stand as shadow chancellor Yvette. Pretty, pretty pretty please.
You're the best candidate AND it would be heaven itself to have a female chancellor. PLEEEEEAAAAASSSSSE

Thu, 2010-09-16 19:08 — Richard (not verified)

Balls would eat Osborne alive....he has already demolished Gove.
If labour want to destroy the coalition b
Balls is the man for the job.
Read any Tory blog and see who they fear most.....just a clue its not Diane Abbott.

Fri, 2010-09-17 00:50 — Chris (not verified)

I think Yvette would make a great shadow chancellor, as would Ed, but I'd still sway towards Yvette.
She's been excellent in my opinion in her current role and could easily take Osborne to pieces.