Ed Balls 'shares responsibility' with Ed Miliband for Labour losing election

Former shadow chancellor Ed Balls admitted he must "share responsibility" with Ed Miliband for Labour losing the general election.

Speaking publicly for the first time since he lost his seat at Morley and Outwood by 422 seats, Balls said he backed Miliband "100%" despite wanting the party to appear "more pro-business".

Balls also said he will not be "dashing back" into politics following his high-profile departure, adding he felt a "sense of loss" at Labour's defeat.

He told the BBC: "Ed Miliband said straight after the election he took responsibility but all of us have to bear our share of responsibility.

"Ed was the leader I backed him as shadow chancellor 100%. In the end he didn't persuade people he could be the prime minister but I didn't persuade people I could be the chancellor either. I have to take that on the chin.

"People will analyse for weeks and months what happened and that's something that still feels too early for me."

When asked how he felt when he realised he was going from becoming potentially the new chancellor to being unemployed, he said it was proof of how "politics is a brutal business" and him losing his seat was a "symbol of the vibrancy of our democracy".

Balls added: "I always knew if the Tories won a majority I was probably a goner but the reason I travelled 7,500 miles and went to 45 seats was because I was fighting to win."

When asked about his future, Balls said he was looking forward to a "new chapter" outside of politics in which he hopes to spend time "cooking, running, playing the piano" and using "real time to stand back and think" to write about economics.

He did admit he will "never say never" with regards to returning to frontline politics. However, Balls said he will not be involved wife Yvette Cooper's campaign to be the next Labour leader.

Balls also did not rule out appearing on BBC TV show Strictly Come Dancing but added, despite having run three marathons, he was "not sure if I'm equipped" for the dancing competition.