Alex Smith will no longer be carrying Ed Miliband’s bags or fighting his fight on Twitter. The successor to Derek Draper as LabourList editor was an early backer of Ed Miliband during the leadership campaign. He has confirmed the rumour that he is off to pastures new. Word is that a combination of his ambition to be more than just a junior bag carrier cum social media spinner plus Alex’s refreshingly direct tendency to say what he really thinks, even without being asked, meant that his card was marked.

At 28 it is probably about time he got a proper job anyway…