Cruddas makes plain in his speeches and articles that he wants to see a clean and substantive break from New Labour. David Miliband's willingness to defend the government's record seems quite out of step with that. And when Cruddas' denounced "the new, sour, kiss-up kick-down politics" in respect of immigration, that was a clear reference to the recent unpleasant noises coming from Balls and others. I would be stunned, in light of that, if Balls got the nod from Cruddas.

The most likely candidate to receive Cruddas' backing seems to be Ed Miliband, who has clearly been pitching towards the Compass agenda in recent weeks.

A word on Abbott. These reflexive dismissal of her cannot be right. Her identifying immigration as a proxy issue for economic concerns, and noting the serious dangers of immigrants becoming stigmatised during a recession, represents a very important contribution to the debate, and places her far closer to Cruddas than Balls will ever get. Surely centre-left people are prepared to give such contributions the respect and attention they deserve?