Ed Miliband says 'I'm ready...' as he finds his stride

Whether or not Ed Miliband makes it into Downing Street, he did today at least look the part of a Prime Minister in waiting.

He tackled two of the Labour Party's biggest weaknesses head on.

First, by vowing to protect the nation's finances, he hoped to banish the image created when he forget to mention the deficit in his party conference speech, and to show that Labour could be trusted to balance the books.

Secondly, he contrasted his own leadership skills directly with those of David Cameron.

"...who do you want standing up for you, the answer will never be David Cameron because he is strong at standing up to the weak, but he's always weak when it comes to standing up to the strong," he told Labour supporters.

And to those questioning whether he was up to the job, there was this:

The message, whatever his opinion poll ratings, is that he is an asset not a liability and that Labour can win with him at the helm.