Nothing like a bit of Mandy to liven things up and the master of the dark arts had luke-warm words for Ed on the Today programme earlier. Despite saying that he was “doing well”, there were criticisms too:

“…he’s struggling with two things. He’s trying to oppose the Government on the economy… at exactly the same time, he’s struggling to invent a new left-of-centre political paradigm… It’s a rather unenviable job…”

Well that’s almost better than saying nothing, and more than he could manage at Davos yesterday. CityAM reports:

Sir Martin [Sorrell] mentioned that some commentators haven’t been so kind about Mandy’s current party leader Ed Miliband. “Have they?” said the dark prince nonchalantly. “I’ve been travelling.” Barclays chairman Marcus Agius doubled over with laughter.

Ed will be lecturing this lot about his new capitalism this week. Guido is sure they are going take him very, very seriously…

Ed Miliband told Tuesday’s Labour NEC meeting…

“…the public don’t yet think we’re fiscally credible.”

Good to see that ITV’s Scotland Tonight decided to put some subliminal messaging about Ed Miliband on to the monitors during their interview with his biggest fan Dan Hodges last night. If you are not at work you might enjoy the closest the Labour leader has got to a bounce in recent weeks. Fast forward to 13.02 here…

UPDATE: A senior Labour source close to Dan Hodges gets in touch to stress that the interview was conducted at the ITN studios, not at the offices of Her Majesty’s Daily Telegraph…

When Ed Miliband was elected in 2010 he said:

“You have put your trust in me and I am determined to repay that trust to you. The first way I need to repay that trust is by uniting our party and taking it forward together.”

He made clear that he wasn’t going to follow the Blairite route of dividing sections of the party against each other with talk of hard choices. Less than two years later he’s had a typo-free change of heart:

Len McCluskey is entitled to his views but he's wrong. Im changing Labour so we can deliver fairness w less money.That means tough decisions—
Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) January 17, 2012

In a way he has united his party, all wings seem to have it in for him. It won’t stop him taking their money though…

Ed Miliband channels Tony Blair…

“Len McCluskey is entitled to his views but he’s wrong. I’m changing Labour so we can deliver fairness with less money.”

Of all the attacks on his leadership, Miliband will have been most relieved with “Red” Len McCluskey’s war-cry in this morning’s Guardian. Unite the Union declaring that Ed is shifting to the right and thus heading over an electoral cliff was to be expected after the two Eds declared support for the public sector pay freeze and the messy announcement about not reversing cuts. Last night one Miliband insider dryly described it to Guido as “the best news he’d had all year”. While putting some distance between the leader and dinosaurs is a good plan, it’s a little more complex in this case though…

Rumours that this is coordinated are wide of the mark and there are some pretty vicious one liners for McCluskey. Blair and Brown could risk the wrath of the brothers because they were not so dependent on their money. Unite are Labour’s biggest donor at the moment and put Ed in the job. The PLP didn’t want Ed in the first place, and now he’s losing support from those that did. Team  Ed won’t be so cock-a-hoop if the money dries up…

Despite an on camera promise in October, Ed Miliband has failed to release the list of businessmen and lobbyists he dined with at a secret “off the record” supper organised by Roland Rudd the shady spinmeister. His agency Finsbury has a whole host of “predators” as clients, including at the online loan sharks Wonga.

There is growing concern in Labour circles that Ed is not putting his full weight behind Stella Creasy’s ill thought out campaign to outlaw these companies, that she claims, target the vulnerable. Ed has given the campaign the nod, but Guido hears that there is disappointment that it has remained a backbench attack. Some were expecting it to be referenced in Tuesday’s speech. Is Ed pulling his punches because of his behind-the-scenes relationship with Roland Rudd? Proper lefty blogger Carl Packman certainly thinks so. Guido will go further: Did this meeting of “independently minded senior business leaders”, aka Rudd’s clients, include anyone from, or representing, Wonga? We’re still waiting for Ed to keep his promise to let us know who he supped Rudd’s champagne with…

Mili-spinners are desperately clinging to the post-PMQs fallout over who was responsible for allowing train companies to increase fares so dramatically. Milband claimed that the government had reversed the cap on fares that Labour had conveniently introduced in an election year. However a document released by the Department of Transport blows that line out of the water. An agreement between the last government and a train company explicitly states that the  limits were only valid for one year:

In other words it was Miliband who was in the wrong when he wailed that the Prime Minister was incorrect in saying “the power to [raise fares] was given by the last Labour government”. Another re-launch week success!

UPDATE: Labour spinners are desperately trying to shoot this down as a “legal technicality”. Adonis has now rushed out a statement saying it was his “intention” to keep the cap forever, despite signing the above document. If that so, how come it was not mentioned in Labour’s manifesto? Even if that was the case, Miliband was still misleading the House by suggesting that Cameron had “reversed” anything.

Labour types are scraping the barrel this morning claiming that Newt Gingrich has “stolen” Ed’s much derided “predators” line. Tom Watson is crowing, Political Scrapbook are grandstanding and Guido is laughing. Ed isn’t even the first European leader to develop the theme. Rewind to 2007 and enter stage right French Presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy: