David and Ed Miliband: A tale of two evenings

Ed and David Miliband had busy evenings

He could have been any other conference delegate catching up with old friends in the bar of the Midland Hotel.

Except he did not have a drink in his hand. And there were few signs of levity. In fact, it looked as if he could not wait to get out of there.

And, sure enough, 10 minutes after arriving that's just what he did, heading for the lifts with both hands resting on his wife's shoulders, looking a bit like a boxer being led to the ring.

It can't be easy being David Miliband at the moment.

As if seeing your younger brother beat you to the job you have spent months, even years, fighting for - and by the narrowest of margins - was bad enough, he must now keep up a constant public impression of being happy for him.

Of course, he may be genuinely happy for Ed, but the pressure to appear so, without hogging the limelight himself, must be tough.

Doorstep

There was a brief flurry of excitement among the media on Sunday morning when word went round that he had checked out of his hotel. Was he flouncing out of the conference? Had he told Ed where to stick his shadow cabinet job offer?

In a word, no. He was still around. Word then went round that he would be putting in an appearance for the cameras in the Midland Hotel. What's known in the trade as a doorstep.

A camera crew was dispatched to watch him walk into the lobby, accompanied by wife Louise, to exchange pleasantries with reporters and bat away more questions about his brother.

On Monday, he is due to take part in a question and answer session in the main hall. He must be hoping party members will have the good grace not to quiz him about his brother's new job and what he plans to do now.

Of course, it is not just David and Ed who are having to adjust to the new Miliband pecking order.

Former MP Angela Smith let out a shriek of horror as she asked delegates at the Eastern Region reception to give "a big hand to Labour's new leader David Miliband!"

"Ooh, I mean Ed Miliband," she quickly corrected herself.

Not that Ed cared. He was already on his way to his next engagement.

Off-limits

Within 15 minutes of David's brief appearance in the Midland hotel bar, the younger Miliband was sweeping through its well-appointed corridors, complete with an entourage of sharp suited minders with earpieces and microphones, to begin a round of appearances at evening receptions.

These events, at which delegates stand around sipping wine and nibbling sandwiches in windowless conference suites, chatting and listening to speeches, are a staple of party conference life.

Mr Miliband was due to appear at no less than 13 different ones on Sunday night - mostly in and around the Midland - addressing everybody from Scottish Labour Party to Young Labour.

His first stop, a trade union reception, was strictly off-limits to the media. Unite's joint general secretary, Tony Woodley, whose public backing of Ed helped secure his victory, chatted and joked with other trade unionists as he waited for the new leader's arrival.

Ed spent an average of 10 to 15 minutes at each reception. Just enough time to press the flesh and deliver a version of an impassioned speech about how the party had to unify - "the leadership election is another country now" - and inspire people to join it.

"We need to build a mass membership party, just like we built before 1997. You don't win elections without people on the ground."

'Unify, change and inspire'

It was tubthumping stuff - he claimed people had joined the party at the rate of "one a minute"

His old boss, Harriet Harman, who gave him his first job in politics as a researcher, joined him for a leg of the tour, beaming with almost maternal pride, as he worked the room ("Ooh look a baby to kiss") and posed for photos with party members.

You wonder if he was road testing lines for his big conference speech on Tuesday.

"You need visionaries at a time of economic crisis. You don't need accountants," he told one gathering, before adding that, actually, you probably needed accountants as well. Needs a bit more work, that one.

But, above all, the message he wanted to get across was that the party was "unify, change and inspire," adding that "humility is my watchword this week" and Labour cannot "blame voters for electing the coalition government".

He also paid tribute to David "and the amazing graciousness he has shown since that election yesterday" and borrowed freely from things he had said on the campaign trail.

It must have been an exhausting evening. I felt tired just watching him shake all of those hands at the handful of events I managed to get into.

Perhaps David has got the better deal, after all.