Spare a thought for poor old Yvette Cooper. As Guido reported in his Daily Star Sunday column, the Shadow Home Secretary was left stranded in the snow by her husband this weekend:

“YVETTE Cooper, the MP and wife of Ed Balls, tweeted early yesterday about the “beautiful, sun rising over a snowy Castleford” and said she would not be deterred by several inches of snow from setting out for Pontefract in her West Yorks constituency to go knocking on doors with “walking boots, ski gloves and a bacon sandwich”. A few minutes later she tweeted a pic of a snow-covered car and commented: “Hmm. Seems car has other ideas. V embarrassing. Am going to have to get @EdBallsMP to help push.” At least the sun was shining and if anyone is experienced at pushing someone out, it is Ed Balls. Just ask Tony Blair.”

She never made the journey…

Meanwhile Guido has uncovered some intriguing details over Cooper’s expenses claims. At the end of 2011 Yvette charged the taxpayer over £600 for the “specialist internet support” of an undisclosed computer ‘expert’. Guido has learned that the money was paid to one Ellie Gellard, the very same famous-for-twitter Ellie Gellard who worked as Balls’ speech-writer and bag carrier.

The claim was made in the very month that Balls unsuccessfully tried to convince his Shadow Cabinet colleagues to take Gellard on as a Political Adviser. Labour have always seen taxpayers’ cash as a way to help out their friends…