Tuesday night saw the Aneurin Bevan Memorial Lecture in Parliament, with Ed Balls taking to stage. Having been unable to convince any of his Shadow Cabinet colleagues to take on Labour’s famous-for-Twitter foghorn Ellie Gellard as a Political Adviser, she’s instead writing his speeches, despite her being officially recorded as a staffer to Kerry McCarthy. Guido hears that it wasn’t for want of trying though…

Gellard has maintained a behind the scenes profile despite ruining Labour’s manifesto launch May 2010. Regular readers will remember her “Gordon is fantastic” speech unraveling in minutes after it emerged that she had previously called for his resignation in less than flattering terms. Since then Gellard has been the Team Balls cheerleader and her loyalty was rewarded on Tuesday with Balls heaping praise on his young admirer:

“I am not going to start this lecture by quoting from the current generation of Labour greats who have paid tribute to Nye Bevan – but by quoting from one of the next younger generation of Bevanites. Because I have been helped in researching this lecture by a young Bristol graduate, Ellie Gellard, the young woman who Labour chose to introduce Labour’s last manifesto in a new hospital in Birmingham. And the name on Twitter she goes by? ‘Bevanite Ellie’.”

And then again:

“That is why, I argued, Nye Bevan deserves the title of Labour’s greatest hero. And what greater tribute to the great man than that he is still a hero today – his name evoked by a new generation to describe their approach to politics. Ladies and gentlemen – just ask Bevanite Ellie… Thank you”

Enough to make a young girl blush…