Balls sees climate challenge as opportunity for EU

Ed Balls was mistaken for the head waiter at a City dinner last week: he thinks it was probably because he was wearing the wrong kind of collar. Listening to him deliver the first of the Fabians' Next Decade lectures last night, I could imagine why a guest had mistaken Balls's air of knowledgeable self-effacement for that of the man in charge of the kitchens.

The economic secretary to the Treasury was perfectly at ease when asked a tough question about the scope of the tax system. But put him on a podium and pass him a speech and he is distinctly uncomfortable.

Balls was delayed by a 7pm vote in the Commons, which may explain why he raced through his lecture. It wasn't an especially unwieldy script, though the occasional phrase - "a post-voluntary approach to skills training", for example - grated. Yet listening to his delivery was like watching a novice rider on a reluctant horse. He got there, but speech and politician never moved as one.

Balls's remarkable career, much of it enabled by the patronage of Gordon Brown, has not required him to win over big audiences. Not every politician likes or trusts political rhetoric. Balls's charm, intelligence and thoughtfulness shone through when the speech was over. Moreover, the lecture hit David Cameron on a genuinely weak spot: his antipathy towards the European Union.