Why isn't Balls being kicked like Harman is?

Mitch

Perhaps because no one outside of rampton and Eds tiny mind consider him as anything but a joke.
Say it out loud I dare you."Prime minister Ed Balls" ha ha ha just cant be done.

David Ossitt

Because she is a nasty piece of work; he is not but he is married to one.

JimBob

Balls, admittedly a nasty piece of work, hasn't yet turned himself into a hate figure with such a wide group of people like Hattie has (i.e. every man in the country).

Robert Simpson

I think that Harman wouldn't get any attention either if she hadn't amazingly managed to win the deputy leadership race.

You could make a case for saying that she only won on second preferences on the whole "vote for me because I'm a woman" thing. Still, her victory then makes her a more plausible candidate now, even if she is still a bit of a joke.

Marbury

The obvious answer is sexism, although the CH community's own species of political correctness forbids anyone from saying so. The comment above, which seems to equate being a female politician with being "a nasty piece of work", is suggestive.

Susan Hill

Because he is Broon`s chosen heir apparent so nobody is allowed to say anything - Harman is there to be walked over.

George Laird

Dear James

"Why isn't Balls being kicked like Harman is?"

I think there are sseveral reasons, one of which is that Harman has a proven track record of personal discrimination in denying a man a job.

Harman was okay about affecting the employment prospects of someone based solely on gender.

Finally; she is also a raving nut as she proved in the Goodwin story to the nation's satisfaction.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Obnoxio The Clown

Because he's so weak?

Obnoxio The Clown

PS If you want, I can put my hobnailed boots on and have a go at kicking him.

Dave B

Because Mr Balls is perceived to have no chance, while Ms Harman has already won a competitive election for deputy-leader, so is the closest thing Labour have to an heir?

Verity

JimBob says Balls "hasn't yet turned himself into a hate figure with such a wide group of people like Hattie has (i.e. every man in the country)".

That is a grossly unfair statement. Women hate her, too. For all the same reasons.

Chuck Unsworth

Because whilst Balls is a jerk, Harman is a harridan.

Balls thinks he's clever, but Harman is purely vindictive - and not clever either.

Liz Brown

I hate Balls...........does that count?

Max Kaye

Because he is sneakier.

But don't worry, Balls-kicking time will come as soon as he puts his thick neck other the parapet.

JONNY

Might it help if he changed his name to Edward Cooper-Balls?
Shade more mellifluous?

oldrightie

I suggest it's because he does favours for Brown Harman is not capable of? There again make that what he wouldn't want!

David Ossitt

Marbury; you write.

The comment above, which seems to equate being a female politician with being "a nasty piece of work", is suggestive.

Where on earth are you coming from; we have had in the past and have now many wonderful female politician.

This nasty deluded, man hating crass, stupid wo-person just is not one of them.

BrianSJ

Because if Brown goes off to spend more time with his family/largactil, she is the elected deputy and would have to be at least a stand-in PM.
The ONLY good thing about that is that Betfair will then pay me a small sum of money.

RW

I think there are two reasons:

(a) Brown's intense and well known personal loathing of Harman, which gives implicit permission to anyone in the know to throw lumps of ordure at her, metaphorically speaking of course; and

(b) his realisation that she might just win.

Commissar Balls, on the other hand, is the other half of the progressive Brown-Ballsite political consensus. He is above and beyond criticism.

Lichen

Because he isn't a woman...

John Moss

Because most of the Labour party would be quite happy to have Ed Balls as their leader, wheras almost none of them would tolerate Harman.

I doubt, though, he would change his name. Cooper-Balls would be too much of a target for the sketch writers and cartoonists, Balls-Cooper whould be turned into a supposed quotation from exchanges round the (shadow) Cabinet table. I suppose he could be very NewMan and change it to Cooper, but then he'd just look like a whimp!

RW

Harman will be the perfect leader of the Labour Party, in the manner that Moses is said to have led the Israelites in the wilderness, for forty years...

Don

Don't worry his turn will come, and it'll be worse.

John Ward

The reason is probably Harman's habit of putting herself about a lot in the present context, whereas Balls is being relatively quiet. He isn't presenting himself as much of a target.

Also, Harman really hasn't a clue about how real people think and act, so is always going to be subject to criticism. If one is going to be an elected representative (as I have been myself) one needs to recognise the purpose of the job, which is to represent those people — not a narrow and bigoted viewpoint, such as Harman's.

Alex

Because Balls is just a joke and isn't even a contender for the leaderhip