No red for Ed

If the new Labour HQ was meant to reflect a reinvigorated party then the blank white walls made for an obvious joke. With hacks and hackettes assembling for Ed Miliband’s summer drinks Labour command and control was going strong – red wine was banned, lest some spill it on the pristine new grey carpet.

Expertly manoeuvred around the room by his spinners ex-Mirror man Bob Roberts and part-time standup comic Ayesha Hazarika, Ed looked like a man who knows he’s had a good few months. He’s got a long way to go to achieve the potential PM aura though. Sneaking out at the end unaccompanied does not really fit the look.

There were a few notable absences. Upstart Chuka Umunna was playing the role of Shadow Chancellor while Ed Balls was baking pirate birthday cakes for his eight-year-old, and there was no sign of Harriet Harman. Obviously it would be beneath the ever-so-ethical Deputy Party Chairman Tom Watson to mix with media types, but it was a little odd that Ed’s own Murdoch-man – former Times hack Tom Baldwin – was a no-show.