As Ed Miliband's speech in Brighton drew to a close, the party faithful's standing ovation was ever-so-slightly drowned out as the stage speakers were cranked up to blare out a slice of contemporary light D&B. The track, Lifted, was the latest single from producer Naughty Boy, featuring Emeli Sandé on vocals.
The track doesn't have the entirely unambiguous message of D:Ream's Things Are Going To Get Better, soundtrack to Labour's 1997 election campaign But despite his name, Naughty Boy is an entirely safe bet for your average party conference playlist – modern, mainstream – and Sandé, of course, performed at the opening and closing Olympics ceremonies last year.
And the lyrics to Lifted – "I'll be lifted/Reach up for the light / I'll be lifted / Devil can't catch me tonight" have all the vague optimism of a horoscope, allowing you to project whatever hopes you like on to them, such as, perhaps, Britain can do better than this.
