Book review: speaking out: lessons in life and politics by Ed Balls

21 years after leaving a career in journalism to work for Labour in opposition, following shock defeat in the May 2015 general election, then UK Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls abruptly found himself without a job. In his new memoir, Speaking Out: Lessons in Life and Politics, he reflects on his life in politics, offering a wider commentary on Labour’s transition from opposition to power and back again as well as key political events and relationships of this period. While readers looking for answers to Labour’s current predicament may need to look elsewhere, this is a worthwhile and often moving account of one individual’s growth across a political life, finds Peter Carrol.