#EdBallsDay: Former Labour MP’s Twitter fail still trending 6 years later

Friday is Ed Balls Day – an annual celebration of one man’s simple Twitter fail and the viral movement it created.

Ed Balls, the Labour politician and one-time shadow chancellor of the exchequer, found himself propelled to fame beyond politics when he innocently tweeted his name on April 28, 2011.

Then the MP for Morley and Outwood, Balls was reportedly searching for a news article about himself on Twitter when he inadvertently tweeted his own name. His post – now retweeted more than 90,000 times – caused quite a stir online.

Reveling in schadenfreude, Twitter users set up an online campaign ahead of the second anniversary of the tweet, thus ensuring the internet would never forget Ed Balls.

While the former MP has 240,000 followers, this has no doubt been partly due to his continued viral success stemming from his appearances on Britain’s Strictly Come Dancing – a stint that included a memorable performance of South Korean dance craze ‘Gangnam Style.’

Celebrations are already in full swing with Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron even taking a break from campaigning ahead of the snap general election in June to wish his followers a ‘Happy Ed Balls Day.’

Others are calling for Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to include the celebration in his proposal for four new public holidays.

Of course a number of brands have been jumping on the back of the Ed Balls bandwagon, prompting complaints that the ‘sacred day’ is being commercialised.

Balls has happily played along with the celebrations, even going as far as baking a cake last year to mark the event’s five-year anniversary.

Earlier, Friday, the Twitteratti waited with bated breath for Balls to tweet.

And when he finally did, he didn't disappoint, returning to Asda to recreate the viral moment.