Alan Johnson's resignation is the worst of news for Red Ed

Parties always try to make the most of their opponent's difficulties and I would have said that any Shadow Cabinet resignation was damaging to Labour in general and Ed Miliband in particular.  I have no idea if Alan Johnson jumped or was pushed but either way his departure is about as damaging as any could have been.

Ed Balls has every right to feel smug today

Firstly this puts a very big question mark over Red Ed's judgement.  Ed had worked with all of the Shadow Cabinet candidates for many years and should have known enough about their strengths and weaknesses to have made a credible choice.  Everyone could see that Johnson was hopelessly out of his depth as Shadow Chancellor, I suspect that Ed Miliband could see that too.  The opening exchanges between Johnson and Osborne were as one sided as Arsenal vs Northend Thistle and it was clear that Miliband had not put Johnson there because he was the best man for the job but to keep Ed Balls out of the slot.

This leads onto the second element of the slow motion car crash.  Ed Balls was, is and always will be a deficit denier and while his incessantly aggressive attacks on anything and everything that the Conservatives propose keep the Labour grass roots happy they make him and his policies incredible, and not in a good way.  Ed Miliband knew this wanted to keep him away from the Treasury brief.  Johnson's departure means that Miliband has failed and Balls has got one over on him.  I foresee a situation where Miliband will now be unable to move Balls out of the Treasury brief irrespective of how much he disagrees or undermines him.  This is Blair and Brown all over again, except that this time the front man is neither popular or charismatic.

With Yvette Cooper taking over he husband's old Home Affairs brief Miliband's top table are full of people who would be described in a school report as "not team players".

To be generous to Miliband he was dealt a weak hand but he has played his cards very poorly.  In short, he's in big trouble.