Let me start by saying that I know little or nothing about MGs, but I do know a little bit about general automotive electrics.
In all cars that I know of that have a ballast resistor, the ballast resistor is wired between the ignition key and the coil positive.
The purpose of the ballast resistor is to protect the points from being burned and the coil from being overheated IF one should leave the ignition ON when the points happen to be closed. In that case, the ballast resistor, NOT the points or coil, will absorb and dissipate the bulk of the current and heat. The ballast resistor also drops the operating coil voltage from a full 12 VDC down to 7-9 VDC.
Most cars with an external (NOT mounted no the starter) starter solenoid also have a wire that runs from the small (I) terminal on the solenoid to the coil positive. This wire bypasses the ballast resistor and provides a full 12VDC to the coil to provide a hotter spark during starting. This wire may also be connected to the heavy starter wire if there is no I terminal.
That also may be the way the MG is wired. If not, forget what I said.
Tim