It looks like Balls had a read of the blog before he went on Question Time and Newsnight list night. He confirmed Guido’s hunch that Labour would not alter their position in voting against any increase in IMF funding from the UK in the current circumstances. He’s made a lot of noise about the various reasons why this morning.

An unnamed Labour source, presumably Balls’s SpAd Alex Belardinelli (who we were assured never briefs anonymously and does all his politics on the record) told Ben Brogan: “we more than anyone need to be seen as being careful with the nation’s finances”. Though many Tories will be loath to side with Balls, this is going to rocky ride for Osborne…

Ed Balls says the role of the IMF is…

“not to solve a structural problem caused by eurozone countries being unable to agree the necessary steps to support and maintain their monetary union.”

Tuesday night saw the Aneurin Bevan Memorial Lecture in Parliament, with Ed Balls taking to stage. Having been unable to convince any of his Shadow Cabinet colleagues to take on Labour’s famous-for-Twitter foghorn Ellie Gellard as a Political Adviser, she’s instead writing his speeches, despite her being officially recorded as a staffer to Kerry McCarthy. Guido hears that it wasn’t for want of trying though…

Gellard has maintained a behind the scenes profile despite ruining Labour’s manifesto launch May 2010. Regular readers will remember her “Gordon is fantastic” speech unraveling in minutes after it emerged that she had previously called for his resignation in less than flattering terms. Since then Gellard has been the Team Balls cheerleader and her loyalty was rewarded on Tuesday with Balls heaping praise on his young admirer:

“I am not going to start this lecture by quoting from the current generation of Labour greats who have paid tribute to Nye Bevan – but by quoting from one of the next younger generation of Bevanites. Because I have been helped in researching this lecture by a young Bristol graduate, Ellie Gellard, the young woman who Labour chose to introduce Labour’s last manifesto in a new hospital in Birmingham. And the name on Twitter she goes by? ‘Bevanite Ellie’.”

And then again:

“That is why, I argued, Nye Bevan deserves the title of Labour’s greatest hero. And what greater tribute to the great man than that he is still a hero today – his name evoked by a new generation to describe their approach to politics. Ladies and gentlemen – just ask Bevanite Ellie… Thank you”

Enough to make a young girl blush…

Balls has a favourite hand gesture to indicate growth flat-lining. When he pulled it out today Dave quipped:

“You can go on making your questionable salute…”

What did he have in mind?

As the dust settles on Red Ed’s reshuffle it becomes clear that he’s taken the opportunity to neuter the other Ed’s power-base. How Balls and his operation work was finally confirmed when the Telegraph published his personal plans to destroy Blair. So what better way for a worried and weak leader to keep an eye on his potentially disloyal deputy than installing your own people into the rival inner circle…

Nearly all of the previous Shadow Treasury team have been booted out. Gone are B-Team loyalists, and eternal flounderers, Kerry McCarthy and Angela Eagle. Chris Leslie is the only one left in the team who gave Balls their first preference in the leadership election; he gave Miliband his third choice. Incoming minions Rachel Reeves, Owen Smith and Cathy Jamieson all voted for Ed Miliband, with Reeves and Jamieson putting Balls as their third and fourth choices respectively.  Balls is surrounded by people who prefer the other Ed. A smart move…

When Derek Draper announced his return to the political fold he smoothed feathers by promising to keep a low profile and to not visibly front his new venture. Which would explain why he was leading the standing ovations for Ed Balls earlier.

It looked like he was mouthing “absolutely brilliant”…

Word cloud quite revealing…

Ed Balls claims unconvincingly…

“My instinct is that you should always try to reduce every tax if you can…”

Ed Balls is trying to reposition himself as slightly less keen on government debt than he was last week, to this end he is about to tell us that in government Labour would use the proceeds of selling the state’s shares in the banks to pay down the debt. Chuka Umunna, the Shadow Business Minister, has been leading a campaign to mutualise the banks supported by over 100 signed-up backbenchers. Balls isn’t having  any of that.

Chuka was Ed Miliband’s PPS before he was appointed to the Treasury Select Committee. Balls is showing how much he respects Chuka’s prowess on economic policy. 

The spinning antics of Ed Balls’ minion Alex Belardinelli are a continual source of amusement in the Guy News room. Sometimes his cavalier attitude to the truth is outdone by a spectacularly poor effort. This morning he was tweeting about “the head of world’s biggest investment fund” saying the government “can and should change course” in a reference to PIMCO – the Pacific Investment Management Company. And who is their European chief? One Andrew Balls. Very much a relation.

Guido would normally say “leave the family out of it”, but it’s Belardinelli that has thrown that rule out of the window. As “Fiscal Gerrymandering” points out in the comments, it’s worth having a look at how Andrew Balls is rated: “Andrew ranks 172nd out of 241 fund managers for one of his bond funds and 68th out of 82 for the other one.” So not only biased, but below par. It must be a family trait…