It was Ed Nose Day and it had plenty there for everyone

However, Mr Miliband seemed ready for kick-off as he lined up to deliver his speech to the party faithful. He started with a reassurance that he was a good old family guy as he talked about the highlights of his year – the birth of a second son, followed by marriage to his long-time partner, Justine.

There were the obligatory self-deprecating gags about his nose job this year to reposition his deviated septum, with the Labour leader calling the day of his operation “Ed Nose day”. But joking apart, his speech was very much for the party faithful, with well-timed jibes at banker Sir Fred Goodwin for pocketing a hefty bonus from the taxpayer-funded Royal Bank of Scotland.

There was plenty for the party stalwarts. He proudly proclaimed that he was not Tony Blair, just in case any delegates were in any doubt as to how New Labour the former cabinet minister is not. Mr Miliband was on to a winner, with Mr Blair’s electoral triumphs a distant memory, and his tarnished reputation for going to war in Iraq.

However, it wasn’t all old-time religion at Liverpool, a class-conscious city with strong Labour ties. Mr Miliband said some of Margaret Thatcher’s policies, such as council house sales, had been right. He also warned that an Ed Miliband government might not be able to reverse cuts imposed by the Tory-Lib Dem government.

But despite what some might have viewed as attempt to get his retaliation in first, the bursts of applause were loud and sustained enough to do the job for the Labour leader. Cue an almost angelic exit as Mr Miliband and Justine disappeared through a heavily-lit exit after climbing a huge flight of steps, in a stairway to heaven kind of way.