No notes, no autocue - today in Manchester we got the 'real' Ed not Red Ed.
A Labour leader evoking Disraeli? Wow!
In one of the most powerful party conference speeches in recent years - Ed Miliband reminded me of the powerful oratory David Cameron employed in 2005 and 2007 to grab the British publics attention.
The Twitterati seemed genuinely approving in the early minutes of the speech - and kept on approving.
But Ed did something more important today than just making a great speech. He made a land grab for 'One Nation' politics - again and again and again.
What was the traditional narrative of the Tory party in the post war era - One Nation Toryism Miliband shamelessly went after.
The sense of social solidarity which One Nation Toryism conveyed has been lost in the modern era by the centre right.
MIliband depicted the immense patriotism of an immigrant family story to stir up the party faithful in the hall. But today he did much more than that - he brought to life a political creed that the Tory party may have cast aside.
He went beyond the amorphous 'fairness' so loved of the left and put a coherent philosohy together. It is just that philosophy has been owned elsewhere before.
He didn't do geek - he spoke in ways which will connect outside the party faithful - in a way many of us thought he could not do.
Its not often you are surprised by a party conference speech. Today I genuinely was.
Prime Minister - over to you next week. Will you grab One Nationism back to its Disraelian home?
David - it's your choice.