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  1. Politics
31 May 2010

Alastair Campbell on Balls’s “drivel”

New diary extracts reveal just how much the Labour spin doctor loathed Brown’s right-hand man.

By George Eaton

We’ve always known that Alastair Campbell doesn’t have a great deal of time for Ed Balls. But it’s still gratifying to have this finally confirmed.

Here are a few choice extracts from his unexpurgated diaries:

26 April 1995: Ed Balls “drivelled on endlessly”. Blair said afterwards that he “only wanted grown-ups to attend his meetings”.

16 July 1996: Balls was “full of bile” about Blair.

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6 November 1996: “Ed Balls spoke drivel, a never-ending collection of words that just ran into each other and became devoid of meaning.”

Clearly Campbell, like the rest of us, never really took to “post-neoclassical endogenous growth theory”.

Hat-tip: John Rentoul.

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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THANK YOU