I did go out with BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders, admits Ed Miliband... and so does Ed Balls
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.For nearly 20 years they have been colleagues and rivals – rising up the ranks of the Labour party from humble advisers to become two of the biggest beasts in the political jungle.
But now the Labour leader Ed Miliband has revealed that he and his shadow Chancellor Ed Balls share another, rather more personal, thing in common: they both won the affections of the BBC’s formidable Economics Editor Stephanie Flanders.
In a revealing and at times embarrassingly personal interview for the women’s magazine Now, Mr Miliband said he and Mr Balls both briefly dated Ms Flanders in the 1990s. The pair both studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford, although they only overlapped by a year. Mr Miliband’s relationship with Flanders is understood to have begun shortly afterwards when he was a researcher for the television programme A Week in Politics and Ms Flanders was introduced to him through friends of friends.
Mr Balls – whose wife, the shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, was Ms Flanders’ tutorial partner at Oxford – then dated Ms Flanders several years later when they worked together at the Financial Times.
Asked by Now whether it was “weird” to have shared a girlfriend with Mr Balls, the Labour leader said: “We did both date her but there was a long time apart between me and Ed. Stephanie and I don’t have any problems running into each other now.”
When asked about the relationship Ms Flanders declined to elaborate: “It was very brief and a very long time ago,” she said.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments