Tuned in at the Labour conference
Before any momentous decision by a political party, a good tip is to check the mood music. Minutes before the results of the Labour leadership were announced delegates inside the Manchester conference centre were soothed by two classics: Brian Ferry's
Let's Stick Together and Altogether Now by The Farm.
Labour activists so far have got the message. Ed Miliband's slender win over his brother David could be a cause for opposing camps to start back biting.
Considering Labour's collapse in one of its biggest ever defeats in a general election, delegates here are in shockingly good spirits. After past Labour defeats, its conferences have usually ended with political blood on the floor. Yet, surprisingly, this conferences already feels like a pre-election rally.
Maybe it's the feeling that the party has a combat ready leader in Ed Miliband.There's also a sense that Labour has a leader who is one of them. Tony Blair never quite pulled off that one. The other main factor is that this party believes the coalition has elevated Labour to be the main opposition to the spending cuts agenda, and it is therefore the only "progressive" party left in Britain.
Lilian Greenwood is a new Labour MP, elected for the first time in May's General Election. She backed Ed Miliband.
"On housing, creating quality jobs and student tuition fees, Ed has been talking about policies that could have a huge attraction to people in my Nottingham South constituency," she told me.Judy Mallaber, first elected in the Blair landslide of 1997, lost her Amber Valley seat in May. So could Ed Miliband's leadership bring back the voters who became so disillusioned with Labour, especially in those East Midlands seats it has to win to get back into government.
"His appeal will be to the young and our core supporters. He will bring energy and enthusiam," said Judy. "He's got to have a message that gets out supporters voting for us again, and also extending Labour's appeal to 'middle England'; those undecided, middle income voters who deserted us so much in May."So what sort of leadership can be expected from "Red Ed", as some newspapers have already dubbed him. His choice of shadow cabinet could be an early clue. One problem: in opposition, the 19 members of the shadow cabinet are elected by the Parliamentary Labour Party.
The leader gets to allocate portfolios; and all eyes will be on who becomes Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and whether brother David retains the Foreign Office watch.
Hello. My name is John Hess. I'm the BBC's Political Editor for the East Midlands and this blog will offer my musings on the political scene from Westminster to closer to home. 
