Ed Miliband appears to be commanding a serious advantage on a resonant issue for the first time since he took the Labour leadership. It is a genuine coup for Miliband to have succeeded in forcing the Tory leadership to back the opposition motion against Rupert Murdoch's takeover of BSkyB. The alternative was the likelihood of a split in the coalition and a defeat in the Commons, with the Tories seen to be opposed to the majority on a clear moral issue. The government has never looked weaker.

Labour has little to brag about in relation to the Murdoch press. Until very recently, its senior spokespeople were still wining and dining the old bruiser and his minions in a vain hope of winning the stable's support. This has in the past extended to the Browns attending Rebekah Brooks's wedding while News International was targeting the family and splashing personal family details all over their tabloids. Miliband himself was recently eager to let the Sun know that "Red Ed is dead"...