Ben Bradshaw’s failure to make the shadow cabinet is not such a surprise, despite his manifest talents; he didn’t have enough support on the left of the party. More of a shocker is Peter Hain, former Welsh secretary, not reaching the final 19 (by a whisker) despite having been deputy chair of Ed Miliband’s election campaign.

Others who might have made it but did not include Chris Bryant, Diane Abbott (who tends to rub other MPs up the wrong way) and Emily Thornberry, who may still make it to the front bench before long. Read more

When I tipped John Healey as a possible shadow chancellor this morning it might have seemed outlandish to some, given his relatively low profile compared to the likes of Alan Johnson and Andy Burnham. But Healey has come in second in the Labour PLP vote for the shadow cabinet, just behind Yvette Cooper, proving that among his own MPs he is very highly regarded. Meanwhile Liam Byrne just scrapes through, 19th out of 19.

Here is the list in full, provided by a friendly MP:

1] Yvette Cooper (232 votes)

2] John Healey (192 votes)

3] Ed Balls (179 votes) Read more

Those seeking clues into the relationship between the two Eds (Miliband and Balls) should remember the first hustings of the summer, hosted by the New Statesman. Those watching were struck by the moment that Ed Balls had been talking at great length before Miliband chipped in: “It’s just like being back in the Treasury“.

Ed Balls is arguably the toughest and most qualified Labour MP to shadow George Osborne. But he has chosen to take an unyielding approach to the deficit which is the polar opposite of Osborne – and seems to preclude a compromise somewhere in between (of the kind proposed by Alistair Darling).  

When both Eds worked for Gordon Brown over a decade ago it was Balls who was seen as the more dominant figure. When Ed Miliband decides who to put into the shadow chancellor job he will be aware that if he chooses Balls he could be effectively ceding control over economic policy to his old rival. Of course he would nominally be in charge. But it is hard to imagine the strong-willed Balls shifting his strongly-held economic views to suit anyone else, even the new Labour leader. Read more