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| Man up Balls: Danny Alexander handshake is snubbed by Ed | |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| Ed Balls refused to play by his own rules as he snubbed a handshake from his Lib Dem counterpart live on TV over agreeing to a Chancellor debate . | Ed Balls refused to play by his own rules as he snubbed a handshake from his Lib Dem counterpart live on TV over agreeing to a Chancellor debate . |
| Earlier this week Mr Balls caught George Osborne off guard by offering his hand on the Andrew Marr Show to sign up to a head-to-head debate between the two. | Earlier this week Mr Balls caught George Osborne off guard by offering his hand on the Andrew Marr Show to sign up to a head-to-head debate between the two. |
| Following yesterday’s Budget, Labour’s shadow chancellor again found himself live on TV, this time with Danny Alexander, the Lib Dem chief secretary to the Treasury. | Following yesterday’s Budget, Labour’s shadow chancellor again found himself live on TV, this time with Danny Alexander, the Lib Dem chief secretary to the Treasury. |
| But when the Scot tried to beat him at his own game, Mr Balls was having none of it: | But when the Scot tried to beat him at his own game, Mr Balls was having none of it: |
| When Mr Balls played the same trick on Sunday, Mr Osborne awkwardly shook his hand but then suggested Mr Alexander, his Treasury deputy, should also take part. | When Mr Balls played the same trick on Sunday, Mr Osborne awkwardly shook his hand but then suggested Mr Alexander, his Treasury deputy, should also take part. |
| Asked whether he was interested in a debate, Mr Balls said: “Of course, and I would like to go further. George and I don’t need the broadcasters to sort these things out. | Asked whether he was interested in a debate, Mr Balls said: “Of course, and I would like to go further. George and I don’t need the broadcasters to sort these things out. |
| “George is not a coward. David Cameron doesn’t want a head-to-head with Ed Miliband but I’m very happy – I will have a head-to-head debate, just the two of us, the potential Chancellors during the election campaign.” | “George is not a coward. David Cameron doesn’t want a head-to-head with Ed Miliband but I’m very happy – I will have a head-to-head debate, just the two of us, the potential Chancellors during the election campaign.” |