One of the good innovations by the new government in foreign affairs is the quarterly report to Parliament on Afghanistan.  It is a pity, therefore, that as far as I know there was no advance notice of the latest one, [...]

Ed Balls MP, Labour's Shadow Chancellor, said in response to the Bank of England's decision on a further £50 billion of quantitative easing: “The Bank of England is doing all it can to try and boost our flatling economy, but it can't perform miracles. Simply printing more money cannot offset the contractionary effects of George Osborne's [...]

By the time this goes to print the snow may have melted away. But as I write it's a foot deep in our garden in Castleford and the sun shining on the snow is fabulous. With temperatures plummeting, we are being told to wrap up and stay indoors. But while for many of us the stress of the cold weather is about roads being clear to get to work or school, for many pensioners, the worry is whether they can afford to keep warm.

David has launched the ACEVO commission on youth unemployment today. You can read the press release here. And download the report here.   You can read his speech explaining the findings here: ACEVO COMMISSION ON YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT – REPORT LAUNCH [...]

Far from being over, I fear the eurozone crisis is this year entering a more chronic, drawn out but equally dangerous phase. While the bouts of market turmoil which characterised the crisis of last year may have receded – at least for a time – don't be fooled. The underlying pressures have not [...]

First published in the New Statesman Labour needs comradely and serious debate. So it should be with the former deputy leader Roy Hattersley’s recent article (with Kevin Hickson) “In praise of social democracy” for the Political Quarterly. Roy has been [...]

My meeting for NHS professionals will take place locally on 10th February between 4.30pm and 6pm. Anyone wanting to attend should register by calling 0113 253 8466 or email me at ed@edballs.com for full details.

The US government has taken a more balanced and steady approach to deficit reduction up to now and they have more than recovered all the output lost in the global recession, while in Britain we are still almost 4% below our pre-crisis peak. And since George Osborne's spending review in the autumn of 2010 our [...]

Yesterday we found out just how badly David Cameron and George Osborne's gamble with our economy has backfired. After stalling for more than a year, our economy has now gone into reverse. Hard-pressed families, pensioners and businesses know that it's hurting, but on jobs, growth and the deficit the evidence is now clear: it's just not [...]

The British recovery has been stalling since the government's spending review in the autumn of 2010, but now the economy has gone into reverse. Since the Chancellor's spending review the economy has grown by just 0.3% compared to the 3.0% the government predicted. And far from the eurozone crisis being to blame, it is only [...]

The time has now come for David Cameron and George Osborne to realise their economic gamble – cutting spending and raising taxes too far and too fast – has backfired and heed the advice of the independent IMF. Last year the IMF was clear that if growth undershot expectations then the British Government should reconsider the [...]

Monday just gone is commonly known as the most miserable day of the year. ‘Blue Monday' is weeks from the festive Christmas cheer, New Year diets are getting tough, bills pile up, and it's dark and cold to boot. Times are really tough at the moment; with unemployment rising, heating bills still high and living standards [...]

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post this week, Ed set out his concerns about the Government's plans for High Speed Rail. He said there is little point in a national high speed rail plan if it doesn't reach the north.

I have recorded tomorrow night's Decision Time for Radio 4 – this time about Europe and Britain's place in it.  You can judge for yourself the balance of the arguments.  Nick Robinson, who presents the programme, says it is meant [...]

New laws came into effect last week that make things easier for Credit Unions to raise money. I'm proud to have introduced that legislation when I was Economic Secretary to the Treasury under the last Labour Government. Credit Unions are owned and controlled by their members and operate for the purpose of promoting saving, providing [...]

Times are tough right now. Jobs are being lost, bills are going up and tax credits are being unfairly cut. If Labour was in government now we'd be making different choices. We wouldn't be cutting spending and raising taxes as far and as fast as David Cameron and George Osborne. Because their reckless plan has done exactly [...]

James Naughtie: This is a big change. You'll blame it on the government because you argue that Mr Osborne has not handled things as you would have handled it. But the truth is, that you accept, do you not, that if you are going to be credible with the public, you cannot promise to have a [...]

Thank you Suresh and Andrew – and to all of you for coming along today and giving up your Saturday. And let me start by saying – after over 20 years of attending the Fabian annual January conference – what a great honour it is to be invited to give the opening speech. I first spoke at [...]

These are tough times and they require tough decisions. As I will say at the Fabian Conference tomorrow, even with our five point plan for jobs and growth and the long-term reforms of our economy that Labour has been calling for, getting the deficit down will mean difficult choices on [...]