But now Red Ed has gone one better and declared that if the electorate voted him in, we would be endorsing a two-term 10-year vision: "Britain 2025".

One inconvenient coincidence for Ed was that the first part of his speech was interrupted by broadcasters covering the verdict in the trial of DJ DLT and the final part was edged out by Barack Obama on the Isil threat. Hey-ho.

Loading article content

After last year's barnstormer on the popular energy freeze, the Labour leader was always going to find it hard to top a speech that a year ago dominated the entire three-party conference season. Ed began slowly and quietly.

Moving from the monstrous extremists of Isil, through the Scottish referendum campaign -when he at last thanked Gordon Brown - to saving public services, it was all predictable stuff.

Platitudes flew; from praising our brilliant armed forces to breaking with the past and creating a different ethic for the 21st century. People's eyes began to close and heads to drop. But then, thankfully, the Labour chief moved out of first gear as, through anecdotes about ordinary folk from Josephine and Elizabeth to Gareth and Colin he alighted on old faithful: the NHS.

Declaring Labour's deep love for the NHS, cheers rang out as Red Ed said the party in government would repeal the Tory law on health care and set out an integrated health and social care plan for the 21st century.

The cheers continued when he spoke about stinging the rich through a mansion tax and the tobacco giants with a windfall tax to plug the funding gap. This was red meat Labour and conference loved it.

The chief comrade was now moving through the gears as he touched on the solidarity of the Union of four nations, declaring: "We are not just better together, we're greater together."

Ed then metaphorically poked Dave in the eye by saying that the PM's emphasis on English votes for English laws, EVEL for short, showed how the Tory leader was more concerned about political divisions than bringing the country together.

Read the rest here:

Red Ed outstripping Joe with a 10-year vision