Ed Balls’ attempts to win over business leaders knocked flat by reality – Labour Conference Comment
You could almost see the moment Ed Balls realised it during his speech to Labour conference yesterday.
The shadow chancellor knew he had to appeal to business leaders keen to see evidence of his economic credibility. But at the same time Balls the showman wanted the audience in the palm of his hand.
By the half-way point, reality had dawned; it is impossible to do both.
Committing Labour to difficult choices ahead, Balls looked like he would rather have been anywhere else as pauses went unfilled by appreciative clapping hands.
Things are going to be hard, he warned, people are relying on us to get this right.
I know we’ve made some mistakes in the past and I’m sorry, but things are different now.
The mood in the hall was so flat Balls might as well have been giving a lecture on the intricacies of the West Lothian question. That would probably have been more interesting.
He stumbled bravely on, tripping over second-hand announcement after second-hand announcement.
The man next to me in the hall began flicking through his fringe guide app trying to find the best free sandwiches for lunch.
After announcing that a Labour government would maintain the child benefit freeze, Balls actually looked buoyed by the smattering of boos from the front row.
A man at the back shouted “shame” and walked out. It was all downhill from there.
More hand wringing was rounded off by surprisingly enthusiastic clapping as Balls reached his crescendo, promising to bash bankers, scrap the bedroom tax and save the NHS from the nasty Tories.
The old pay-off lines might still work, but the shadow chancellor looked positively sick.
The realisation that being credible on the economy won’t win you support from the Labour faithful is proving to be a tricky pill to swallow.