• Labour MP for Normanton
• Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (since 28 Jun 2007)
• Entered Parliament on 5 May 2005 — General election
• Majority: 10,002 votes. — 161st out of 635 MPs.
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• Voting record
• Committees and topics of interest
• Recent appearances
• Numerology
• Register of Members' Interests
• Expenses
• Early Day Motions signed by this MP (From edm.ais.co.uk)

How Edward Balls voted on key issues since 2001:

• Voted moderately against a transparent Parliament. votes, speeches
• Voted very strongly for introducing a smoking ban. votes, speeches
• Voted very strongly for introducing ID cards. votes, speeches
• Voted very strongly for Labour's anti-terrorism laws. votes, speeches
• Voted very strongly against an investigation into the Iraq war. votes, speeches
• Voted very strongly for replacing Trident. votes, speeches
• Voted very strongly for equal gay rights. votes, speeches

Read about how the voting record is decided.

More on well-known issues (from the Guardian) & their full record

• Hardly ever rebels against their party in this parliament.

Asks most questions about

• Departments: Education and Skills, Trade and Industry, Health, Deputy Prime Minister, Work and Pensions

• Subjects (based on headings added by Hansard): Care Support Services, Care Leavers, Mental Health, Rwanda, Teenage Pregnancy

(based on written questions asked by Edward Balls and answered by departments)

Written Answers — Children, Schools and Families: Departmental Cost Effectiveness (7 May 2008)

“My Department is jointly committed with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), to the efficiency target set originally for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The DfES target is 2.5 per cent. a year over the Spending Review 2004 period. This means being able to demonstrate cumulative gains against our baseline of £1.45 billion in 2005-06, £2.9...”

Written Ministerial Statements — Children, Schools and Families: Rose Review (Primary Curriculum) (6 May 2008)

“In a written statement on 9 January 2008, Official Report, column 9WS, I summarised the remit of Sir Jim Rose's independent review of the primary curriculum. Among other things, his remit includes making recommendations on introducing greater flexibility to help schools narrow the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. In the Children's Plan, the Government acknowledged...”

More of Edward Balls's recent appearances

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Please note that numbers do not measure quality. Also, representatives may do other things not currently covered by this site. (More about this)

• Has spoken in 17 debates in the last year — below average amongst MPs.
• Has received answers to 0 written questions in the last year — Ministers do not ask written questions.
• Replied within 2 or 3 weeks to a low number of messages sent via WriteToThem.com during 2007, according to constituents.
• Has voted in 84% of votes in parliament — well above average amongst MPs. (From Public Whip)
• People have made 24 comments on this MP's speeches — well above average amongst MPs.
• This MP's speeches are understandable to an average 18–19 year old, going by the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score.
• 147 people are tracking whenever this MP speaks — email me whenever Edward Balls speaks.
• Has used three-word alliterative phrases (e.g. "she sells seashells") 256 times in debates — above average amongst MPs. (Why is this here?)

Register last updated: 23 Apr 2008. More about the Register

View the history of this MP's entries in the Register

Figures in brackets are ranks. Parliament's explanatory notes.

^* Car £5,064 (141st). 3rd party £30 (47th). Rail £8,839 (52nd).