‘It takes two to tango’ – podcast with University’s Sir David Bell and Ed Balls

Published on 19 April 2021

The University of Sunderland’s Vice-Chancellor Sir David Bell joins forces with Former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Ed Balls for a new podcast.

In this very special episode of the Leading Questions podcast, Sir David Bell and Ed Balls explore the Minister-Permanent Secretary relationship.

The two worked togather in 2007 at what was the Department for Children, Schools and Families – Sir David as Permanent Secretary and Ed Balls as Secretary of State.

They discuss first impressions and how they built a coherent team and vision together based on chemistry, trust, and openness, with plenty of fun thrown in there too.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing. The department faced a series of crises including SATs results, payments of Educational Maintenance Grants and the tragedy of Baby P.

Both Ed and Sir David, who joined the University in 2018, talk about how they worked together in a crisis, and personally managed the pressure.

You can listen to the Global Government Forum podcast here