Ed Balls tipped for House of Commons return by Labour MPs after Strictly Come Dancing exit

Commons return?: Labour MPs have tipped Ed Balls to return to frontline politics
BBC
Jamie Bullen28 November 2016
WEST END FINAL

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Ed Balls has been tipped for a sensational return to frontline politics following his exit from Strictly Come Dancing.

The former shadow chancellor became the 10th celebrity to be voted off the hit BBC show on Sunday after a series of entertaining performances which have transformed his image.

One-time Labour colleagues have now tipped Mr Balls to use his raised profile to rejoin British politics.

Last year Mr Balls lost his seat in Morley and Outwood last year by 422 votes to Conservative Andrea Jenkyns in a shock result.

All danced out: Ed Balls has left Strictly Come Dancing
BBC/Kieron McCarron

Mr Balls pursued a career in academia following the General Election as he became a senior fellow at Harvard University and a visiting professor at King's College London.

Some have speculated Mr Balls could now launch a career in light entertainment in a similar fashion to ex Tory MP Michael Portillo but others suggested a return to the Commons could be on the cards.

Dudley North MP Ian Austin, who worked with Mr Balls at the Treasury under Gordon Brown and backed him for the leadership in 2010, said: "I've not talked to him about whether he wants to come back to politics.

"But I think the public have seen a side to Ed that they hadn't really seen before.

"They've seen that he is warm and engaging and they've seen some other dimensions to his character that were not so widely exposed when he was in politics.

"I think it's a really good thing if the public can see other sides of politicians' characters and see the human side of them.

"As for him coming back into politics, I've no idea what he wants to do, but I think the Labour Party could really benefit from his knowledge and experience and from the public profile he has now got and the extent to which people feel they have got to know him as a result of Strictly."

Another Labour MP, who also backed him for the leadership in 2010, said: “The good thing about this run on Strictly is that members of the public can see the person that those of us who worked with him have always known.

"The reputation as a bully was always wrong. He really is a great guy, someone who inspires loyalty and someone who was very popular and well-liked and respected by people who worked with him."

However, Mr Balls appeared to play down reports he could be set to return to the Commons.

Speaking on BBC2 spin-off show It Takes Two, he said: "I think if I was thinking I was going to go back to politics, I'm not sure I would have been a Zoolander male model, pulling those faces.

"I think it would have been the most crazy thing to do."

"I don't know, but I'm just recovering from an amazing three months and I'm looking forward to what's happening next year, and maybe going on the tour. So there are good things still to come, and who knows?"

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