The BRITs afterparty- The Savoy



  Jessie J, James and Pixie Lott 

Being a dad? It’s a juggle out there

 James interviewing Labour leader, Ed Miliband for The People 

 My interview, as it appeared in The People 



Ed Miliband finds it hard to balance politics with being a dad and admits: “I don’t juggle it as well as I’d like.”

The Labour leader has two sons with partner Justine Thornton – three-month-old Sam and Daniel, 20 months.

But he said: “I have the same frustration many People readers have – they don’t have enough time to see their kids.
“It’s a real problem in Britain today.What I do try to do is to protect and enjoy every single moment I do have with them.”

Ed, 40, opened his heart to The People as he headed to Newcastle to launch an initiative highlighting the ­importance of family life.

He said: “The biggest frustration is not having the chance to spend more time with my children.He said: “The biggest frustration is not having the chance to spend more time with my children.

He added: “Daniel has a fascination with tractors and diggers at the moment.

“He’s obsessed with bricks, too, so we have fun building things together. But he also has a helpful streak and likes to help empty the dishwasher, which is quite a good thing. I suppose you can say Justine and I are training them young.”

Ed, who lives in Primrose Hill, north London, added: “Two is more work than one – and more joy too.”

Asked if he’d like his sons to go into politics, he said: “I won’t push them – they should do what makes them happy.”

But he expects they will one day judge how well he’s performed as party chief. Ed said: “I think they will ask in 20 years time, ‘Were you the last generation not to get climate change?’ or ‘Did you promote opportunity for us or hold it back?’”

In Newcastle, he made an angry attack on the Coalition which he says is making it harder for middle and lower income parents to build better lives for their children.

Reflecting on his childhood with brother David – who he pipped for the Labour leadership – he said: “My ­parents tried to give us the right combination of encouragement, love and support and were incredibly ­important in ­shaping me as a person.

“They came to Britain as refugees from the Nazis and they gave us huge opportunities. That’s what I want for kids across this country.”