Ed’s snoozefest about local government infrastructure reorganisation in Birmingham today has not set the world on fire, despite the protestations of his adoring fans:

24 hr news channels are covering a South African trial instead of a planned £20 billion devolution from the guy who might be PM next year

— Mark Ferguson (@Markfergusonuk) April 8, 2014

There is one interesting thing to note though, this is yet another nail in the Ed Balls coffin. As Rawnsley deigned to tell us a week or so ago, Balls has been fighting the local devolution policy, which he described as a “profound and important fault-line with big implications for how Labour might govern”. On one side of the fight was Cruddas, Andonis and Byrne with opposition “coming from more conventionally-minded types on both left and right”. Like Balls:

“Ed Balls is regarded as a key figure in this debate. There is a traditional Treasury objection to loosening the reins of control, which is almost invariably shared by chancellors and would-be chancellors.”

Well Miliband sided against Balls. Again…