Is this how Labour tell the truth?

I'm looking at Ed Balls today. A few months ago he wanted to be chancellor. Surely a man who wants to be chancellor must have some grasp of figures.

I'm even going to ignore the various exam fiascoes that have gone on under his watch and have a look at what he's been doing recently (aside from ignoring emails from his Tory counterpart). I'm actually only going to focus on what he's said about the budget for schools. Should be an area he can be pretty clear about.

He has just stated today that he wants schools to save £750m through cutting back on heating. I assume that is because he needs to reduce his budget just like every other government department. Afterall, every second in October the country became another £4k in debt.

Well, less than two weeks ago, shortly before the Queen's Speech, he was reported demanding an increase in his budget of £2.6Bn. Perhaps he's been persuaded since then of the need for cuts, explaining his most recent pronouncement.

However, in September he said that he was going to cut the school's budget by £2Bn. Mostly through cutting the numbers of headteachers and other senior staff. You know, the people who hold schools together and pretty much the only people in the entire business who are actually responsible for their school's performance.

Then again, in June, he was spouting off about he was going to increase the school budget. Now I'm getting really confused.

In the space of six months this man has said he will increase, then cut, then increase, then cut the school budget. There's probably even more I've not been able to find with a quick search online.

There's a reason why both government and opposition need to be honest about their plans. It means we can weigh up which is the lesser evil and decide who to vote for.

Is this the level of honesty that Labour think the British people deserve?