Desperate Balls comes out fighting

Springtime for Ed Miliband, curtains for Balls. Or at least it should be, following the news that Unite will back Miliband for the leadership. It is rumoured that Balls will pull out of the race and support David Miliband in an attempt to secure the shadow chancellor’s post. But only Brown does seemingly blind defiance better than Balls. This morning, Balls has assaulted the airwaves with the full complement of Brownite clichés:

‘I fight on; I fight to win. I’m in it to win it. I am the best person to fight this coalition.’

You get the impression that he means it, and he’ll fight on in hope rather than expectation. It will take a miracle for Balls to win from here. His campaign has been run adeptly and his profile is arguably the largest of the five candidates – take for instance his ubiquitous and voluble opposition to Michael Gove.