How’s this for the dawn of a new politics? Tom Watson has been replaced on Labour’s ruling NEC by Jon Ashworth: a former Brown Special Adviser who was parachuted into a safe Labour seat at a by-election.

I'm made up – @Ed_Miliband has asked me to join our Party's National Executive Committee

— Jonathan Ashworth MP (@JonAshworth) July 11, 2013

“Johnny Sparkle” used to be in charge with liaising with the unions for the party, and as the Standard once noted, his contact book is “stuffed with constituency officers and union organisers”. Continuity Labour.