Nine months is generous – Ed Balls has nothing to say on the economy

With the economy recovering and Labour floundering, it was a poor PMQs yesterday for Ed Miliband. And the source of his trouble was sitting right next to him – his own Shadow Chancellor.

After a disastrous response to the Autumn Statement, Ed Miliband is rumoured to have given Ed Balls nine months to sort out Labour’s economic policy. Clearly riled, Ed Balls has given an interview to the FT this morning, the raison d’etre explicitly being to try and regain some credibility on the economy.

And so, somewhat wearily, we have the re-announcement of a ‘zero-based spending review’, six months on from its first outing in June.

Try as Balls may, if we needed any reminding that Labour have nothing to say on the economy, this interview certainly does the job.

Ed Balls talks about a spending review, but can’t point to meaningful savings Labour would make.