Now Ed's hard labour begins

Yet, if this audacious move was controversial, and strained relations within the Miliband family, it pales into insignificance compared to some of the momentous policy decisions facing the youthful leader of a party devoid of funds and public credibility.

The Yorkshire MP cannot expect to walk into Downing Street on the back of public dismay over the coalition Government's spending cuts; he has to earn that right and demonstrate that Labour can be trusted once again with the public finances. It will not be easy. Despite his easy-going charm, it was Mr Miliband who wrote Labour's fateful election manifesto.

In many respects, however, it is the leader's Doncaster North constituency that illustrates the challenges ahead. A town that became over-dependent on the public sector – and home to a local council that has become a byword for inefficiency – Mr Miliband needs to demonstrate how such communities can prosper when the state cannot afford to issue blank cheques.

Of course, it will be tempting for Mr Miliband to accede to the spending demands of the trade unions whose support proved pivotal in the leadership contest. He must resist this, especially if he wants to lose the unfortunate "Red Ed" tag. His signal yesterday that strikes should only be a last resort is a hopeful first sign that he will be his own man.

Yet, in constructing a new economic policy, Mr Miliband should follow the instincts of David Cameron, another inexperienced individual who became party leader after serving just one term in Parliament.

Mr Cameron provided constructive opposition while re-examining the Conservative's entire policy approach. Labour now needs a similar programme of renewal if it is to win back those middle class voters betrayed by Gordon Brown, or those traditional supporters who resented the last Government's approach to immigration.

It is entirely proper that Mr Miliband backs the coalition where appropriate. The public expects its leaders to be responsible. Opposing every spending cut for political expediency is not viable. But, rather than pushing to bring down the Government at the earliest opportunity, Labour needs to first learn from its past mistakes, starting with a constructive appraisal by the new leadership team of how the deficit should be cut responsibly. Time spent now on this process could benefit Labour in the long run, provided that the damaging infighting between so-called Blairites and Brownites has truly been consigned to history.

So far, Ed Miliband recognises this with his promise to reach out to "a new generation". We wish him well. His elevation to party leader can only benefit Yorkshire in the longer-term, while also reminding the Government of its obligations to the English regions. Yet, after winning over his party, Ed Miliband has to convince the country that he is a Prime Minister-in-waiting. The hard labour starts now.