What's Ed Balls doing "leading a round of applause" for Phil Woolas today?

By Jonathan Isaby

Great timing for this year's Labour North West Regional Conference, which is taking place this weekend in Southport - to coincide with the election of one of the region's Labour MPs being declared void.

After some hours' prevarication, Phil Woolas was suspended from the Labour Party yesterday afternoon in disgrace and Harriet Harman publicly disowned him.

But not all the Shadow Cabinet share her point of view.

Here's an illuminating tweet from Labour Council candidate Kevin Peel at the conference:

Hat tip: Sky News' Tim Gatt