From a LabourList article speculating on who was behind the latest leaks to hit the beleaguered Miliband Minor leadership:

So we could well presume it was the Tories. It may not rid them of Balls, their bogeyman, but it has got the spotlight off them temporarily and has got everyone focussed on Labour’s big split.

Errr, no, that doesn't make sense. I'm not a Tory, but I'm pretty sure that if I was then one of the main people who I would want to keep at the very heart and at the very head of the Labour party would be Ed Balls. Yes, he manages to land some blows on the Tories. But he does so in such a way that makes him utterly repellent - like a school bully with no self-awareness whatsoever. He comes across as a repugnant individual; a nasty little thug who finds arguing with and smearing his opponents almost arousing. He is about as popular as foot and mouth disease at a country fair.

So the Tories will want to keep Balls as Shadow Chancellor for as long as possible. Having that vile puff adder as close to the top of the Labour party is great for them - it will remind the people of so much of what they hated about the Brown years. And if the Labour party wants to figure out who has stitched up Balls so nicely over the past week then they should bear in mind that if you climb to the top of the greasy pole by shafting other people, you leave in your wake a lot of enemies. And if you also leave a paper trail, then at some point you can be sure that someone you fucked over will delight in returning the favour...