Former Labour MP and guest Good Morning Britain presenter Ed Balls has opened up about his lifelong struggle with a stammer, describing it as a 'nightmare' during his time in the cabinet. Speaking to co-presenter Susanna Reid on Wednesday, Balls reflected on the challenges he faced speaking without an autocue and the advice he now gives to young people with the same condition.
Balls revealed that he did not realise he had a stammer until he was in the cabinet, after his father heard him on the radio and recognised the same speech pattern. He said he could never read from an autocue and had to learn speeches off by heart, delivering them as if off the cuff. 'In questions in the Commons, we had to read out the precise words, and it was a nightmare,' he said.
The former MP admitted that he only went public about his stammer in 2009, after being told that keeping it secret would prevent improvement. Since then, he said, the pressure has eased. 'Sometimes it goes wrong, but you know that's fine,' he added, noting that he now enjoys presenting on live television, something he would have found impossible 12 years ago.
Balls encouraged others with stammers to embrace their differences, citing famous figures such as Gareth Gates, King George VI, and Ed Sheeran who have all had the condition. 'It's not something you catch, it never goes away, it's part of who you are,' he said. 'If you own it and say this is who I am and take it or leave it and have a go, then it's amazing what you can do.'
He stressed the importance of openness, saying that covering up a stammer only makes things harder. 'I hope that there are lots of young people that think if I want to be in the cabinet, then go for it,' he concluded.
