DAVID Cameron once called Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls the most annoying man in British politics. It was a brutal description, but perfectly true.

I imagine it is even a badge Balls is quite proud of, in the same way a trouble-making youth has no qualms telling peers about his asbo.

Indeed, in the scoff-fest of the Commons floor it helps to be highly annoying, it distracts your opponents and knocks them off guard and Balls is a master.

During Prime Minister's Questions he does far more to upset Cameron, incessantly gabbling from his seat, than the moribund questions Ed Miliband flops over his despatch box. His new trick, effective in that it grates on both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor George Osborne, is to constantly make the same hand gesture a cricket umpire employs when signalling a four has been scored.

But instead of saying "four" he says "flat-lining" over and over, a nod to the fact that despite Osborne's best efforts the British economy has about as much get-up-and-go as a tired panda.

He used the movement again in Chancellor's Questions on Tuesday to decent effect, but if there is anyone who realises the value of being annoying like Balls, it is Osborne. With the Chancellor it comes across more as snide vindictiveness – and this week his chosen victim happened to be the Nottingham East MP Chris Leslie.

Osborne was already primed to go on the attack having had a torrid morning. Figures had just been released showing the British economy had grown in the third quarter of the year by 0.5%.

That was actually slightly better than the 0.3% predicted by many. But the good news – and boy had Osborne been crying out for some – was swallowed up by deeper instability in the Eurozone.

On top of that other figures popped up suggesting that the UK's manufacturing sector deteriorated last month at the fastest pace for more than two years. It meant that in the morning Osborne had been cornered by a TV camera while sheepishly wearing a high-visibility jacket on a visit to a construction site.

Shortly before Leslie asked his question in the Commons that day another Labour backbencher had cheekily mentioned the high-visibility incident, giving Osborne an unwelcome niggle.

The city MP presented the perfect chewing-toy for an irritated Chancellor.

He asked why the Government was yet to mention any sort of strategy for growth, adding: "He's been telling us all summer that Britain is a safe haven, yet growth is weak, unemployment is rising and construction and manufacturing are both contracting, what kind of safe haven is this?"

Leslie has so far performed diligently on the Shadow Treasury Team.

Among other things he's led the Opposition's efforts to scrutinise the Government's Bank Levy – but he's yet to display the unassuaged killer instinct needed to fell the Chancellor. Dare I say it, he might benefit from being a bit more annoying.

Osborne replied with a sweep of his forearm: "First of all can I congratulate him on keeping his job in the clear-out of the Labour Treasury front bench, although on the basis of that question I'm not sure why he did."

Having a surly bite, however, will only take the Chancellor so far as the economic clouds darken.

Sooner or later he will have to bring forward a better answer to the question hanging over our faltering recovery.