By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

As Ed Miliband appoints junior shadow cabinet ministers, it has been revealed that Diane Abbott will take on the junior role on public health.

Other rumours this evening have centered around the new intake with Chuka Umanna, Rachel Reeves and Michael Dugher being hotly tipped. Kevin Maguire believes that up to six of the new intake of MPs could be given roles.

Meanwhile, we're hearing that there will be roles for Andrew Gwynne, Andy Slaughter, Chris Bryant, Chris Leslie, Barbara Keeley, Ian Austin, Stephen Twigg and Wayne David. Kerry McCarthy is also rumoured to have left the whips office, but Lyn Brown is staying there - she's been promoted.

Although the rumours will continue over the next twenty four hours, we don't expect to hear any firm announcements until tomorrow - but we'll continue to bring you the news as we have it.

Update I: Expect to see Shabana Mahmood as one of the new intake given a junior shadow cabinet role, and Emily Thornberry (who came agonisingly close to election to the shadow cabinet) being given a role too.

Update II: Paul Wilkinson is the comments says he's sad not to hear mention of Vernon Coaker - we can confirm that Vernon is in line for a role, and could be even be doing a role he's done before. Roberta Blackman-Woods, Karen Buck and Helen Goodman should all be getting roles too.

By Darrell Goodliffe

Now the dust has settled a little on the various electoral excitements for Labour, it finds itself at a fork in the road. I would argue that there is a real policy divide within the party between deficit ‘hawks’ and ‘doves’.

Rather oddly, given his combative nature, Ed Balls has up to this point been the primary spokesperson of the doves whose basic contention is that Alistair Darling's deficit reduction programme was too fast, too soon and that money should still be pumped into the economy. Balls himself sees this merely in a Keynesian light but some doves (or maybe I am the only one) would like to see more than investment to buoy the economy and see it used as well to effect radical restructuring. I would like to see a radical overhaul and change of this economy away from corporate enterprise (even of the small business variety) towards co-ops and mutuals and the creation of a new economy from the ashes of the old. However, that makes me a radical, not a mainstream dove.

By Krupesh Hirani / @Krupesh4Brent

Earlier this year, the Independent highlighted that it costs on average £201,000 to raise a child in Britain today. Parenting has changed, with many taking more responsibility for their children, in many cases, up to and beyond 21 years of age. Helping them to progress through education, in some cases university, giving them a foot up onto the housing ladder; it’s all very costly and now an inevitable part of modern day parenting.

Universal child benefit acknowledges and recognises that it is expensive to raise children in Britain today. Scrapping the Building Schools for the Future programme, halting Playbuilder schemes and freezing child benefits are just a few of the ways in which families have been bearing the brunt of the coalition cuts.

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Today was a big day for the party, with Ed Miliband announcing his new shadow cabinet after yesterday's election results. You can find out how the day unfolded by checking out our liveblog, or keep reading for the pick of today's Labour figures in the media.

By Lisa Nandy MP / @lisanandy

It has been quite a week for the Tories. First Michael Gove announced he was scrapping the rule that teachers cannot have physical contact with children – a rule that has never existed. Next Boris Johnson popped up to tell us Trade Unions should not be permitted to strike without a 50% turnout in their ballot; this from a man who was elected Mayor of London on a turnout of 45%.

But it has been rightly overshadowed by George Osborne's decision this week to end child benefit for the children of higher rate taxpayers - a crude, unfair measure that will squeeze an already hard-pressed group of families.

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Ed Miliband faced some very tough decisions today, and he made them quickly and decisively. Of course it's too soon to know how they will pan out, but what we can see here are the emerging outlines of the Labour Party that Ed Miliband wants to lead. This may not be the "Ruthless Ed" that we saw remove Nick Brown as chief whip - but there appears to be a level of strategic thinking involved in the way that Ed has put together his new team.

The obvious starting point for analysing Ed's new shadow cabinet is to take a look at Alan Johnson as shadow chancellor. Both last night and this morning all of the talk was about who Ed would choose between Balls and Cooper. In the end this was a choice without a rational answer, so it seems that Johnson's appointment is an opportunity to look at the treasury role in a different way. But it's a gamble, and the stakes are high.

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

18:35: Well - what a day that turned out to be after last night's drama. You'd have got pretty long odds on the final shadow cabinet line-up as recently as yesterday. Thanks for sticking with us today - and keep an eye out for "Party Lines" this evening, where we'll be bringing you the pick of the Labour media appearances from today.

18.23: The new shadow chief secretary of the treasury, Angela Eagle, has talked to Radio 4 about what's next for Ed and his new team:

"We will now be focusing on the spending review. I think Alan johnson is a fantastic and experienced member of our team and I think Ed is entitled to appoint who he thinks best to each role."

17.23: Speaking to Sky News this afternoon, shadow chancellor Alan Johnson said he thought Alistair Darling had "got it just about right" on deficit reduction:

"Alistair Darling's plans are our starting point, I've never agreed Alistair's proposals were over too short a period, I think he got it just about right."

By Luke Pearce

First as contender and then as leader, Ed Miliband has shown himself willing to stand up for Labour principles and able to articulate them in a way that sounds both reasonable and novel. This has earned him some critics within the party and many enemies outside of it.

So far his politically intelligent strategy has worked: Miliband was the candidate most able to build a broad base of support in the leadership election, as evidenced by his actually winning it; multiple polls suggest that Labour has, for now, regained levels of support not seen for several years, while thousands of people continue to join the party.

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Today is in many ways the toughest day of Ed Miliband's leadership so far (potentially tougher than seeing his brother leave frontline politics at his own hand) as he begins to finalise his first and most important shadow cabinet. He must try to balance those who are his strongest supporters with those who openly backed other candidates. He must try to balance the top jobs between men and women. And most importantly, he needs to show that this is Labour's "New Generation" that he spoke of at conference.

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

* Shadow cabinet: We know the names - but who will get what jobs?

* Hours before the results were announced, Jack Straw said 1/3 of the shadow cabinet would be "incapable".

* Sunny Hundal says Labour desperately need Cooper or Balls as shadow chancellor.

* Will Straw highlights some of the tough decisions for Ed Miliband.

* John Harris on the lonely leadership of Ed Miliband.

* Obama accused of exaggerating terror threat for political gain.

* Brian Reade says he agrees with George Osborne on child benefit cuts.

* And a deputy headteacher who spoke at Tory conference has been sent home from school.

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Cooper 232
Healey 192
Balls 179
Burnham 165
Angela Eagle 165
Johnson 163
Alexander 160
Murphy 160
Jowell 152
Flint 139
Denham 129
Benn 128
Khan 128
Creagh 119
McKechin  117
Maria Eagle 107
Hillier 106
Lewis 104
Byrne 100

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

In today's "Party Lines", Ed Miliband was interviewed by "This Morning", and discussed public sector strikes, the shadow cabinet election and the economy. Jack Straw was firecely critical of Peter Mandelson over his memoirs, and shadow schools minister Vernon Coaker accused the government of "doing down the achievements of children".

Ed Miliband gave a wide-ranging interview on "This Morning" today, and said, "If the Tories want to underestimate me, that’s absolutely right by me". Ed used the interview as an opportunity to react to the threat of public sector strikes, and John Hutton's pension reform plans, saying:

"I don't think we should be talking about industrial action. I think it’s very premature to be talking about that, I’m going to look at John Hutton’s report because people want us to deal with this in a responsible way and I think John Hutton is a responsible person. I’m going to look at what he’s got to say."

By David Taylor and the LCID Team

The Labour Campaign for International Development is calling on LabourList readers to co-sign our letter to Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP as the new Leader of the Labour Party.

From his time as Climate Change secretary, and in his video interview with LCID, we know that Ed is a strong advocate of international development - so we are calling on him to place the fight against global poverty and injustice at the core of his leadership. In particular, we are asking that Ed hold the coalition to account on the 0.7% commitment to ensure it is met and spent on poverty reduction, take strong action on climate change and campaign for a Robin Hood Tax.

LCID invites Labour List readers to co-sign the letter so we can show the grassroots support for keeping international development high on the agenda of the Labour Party. Co-sign the letter by adding your name here.

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

After topping the LabourList/Left Foot Forward/Liberal Conspiracy shadow cabinet survey today, Yvette Cooper is now the bookies' favourite to be the next shadow chancellor - although her husband Ed Balls is close behind her. What seems clear is that the bookies think the post must go to either Cooper or Balls, but they're not sure which one.

Joe Murphy in the Evening Standard suggests that sources close to Ed Miliband believe that Cooper is the "safer choice of the pair".

If Cooper does become shadow chancellor, she will be immediately installed as the favourite to be the next Labour leader. Ladbrokes spokesman Ciaran O’Brien said:

"If Yvette tops the poll we'll have no choice but to make her clear favourite to be next leader - the shadow chancellor job will give her a high profile. Combine that with her current popularity in the party and she has to be the new front runner, with David Miliband close behind."

By Richard Watts / @richardwatts01

As the row rages about the Tories’ broken promises on child benefit, a much larger betrayal of a pre-election promise is in the offing. Before the election Labour said there would be cuts to Sure Start.

The effect of the attack was limited because the Tories moved so fast to deny it. David Cameron said this to Tory conference last year:

"But it's not just about money. It's also about emotional support, particularly in those fraught early years before children go to school. Labour understood this and we should acknowledge that. That's why Sure Start will stay, and we'll improve it.”

But now, the briefing and rumours are that the government is planning a massive cut to Sure Start.

By Luke Pollard

I dislike Tory conferences. I feel out of place and unwelcome. This feeling was noticeably reinforced as I walked out of the security tent outside Birmingham’s ICC and was pointed at from across the square accompanied by the cry of “Oi, socialist!”. Welcome to Conservative Party Conference indeed. Clearly we are not all in it together.

Unlike the Liberal Democrat and Labour conferences it took me a few days to really work out what the atmosphere was like in Birmingham. Taking the temperature of the party wasn’t helped by the rabbit warren feel of Birmingham’s ICC with corridors and split-level walkways all over the place. But just as Tory spinners had told us, this wasn’t a conference of smug celebration nor was it a moaning shop for the right wing angry at the Tories’ failure to win an outright majority. Birmingham was billed as a serious conference and to be fair, it delivered a serious atmosphere.

By Joshua Fenton-Glynn / @joshfg

The proposed changes that will cap the benefits that one household can receive and lead to less people being entitled to child benefit are an attack on some of the most vulnerable groups in society. These attacks make the slogan ‘we are all in this together’ ring as hollow as the idea of the ‘big society’.

The true effects of these policies will be far reaching and damaging to Labour’s legacy on child poverty and in some cases they will lead to families being left homeless. These are things that the Labour movement must be at the forefront of opposing.

The Paul Richards column

In the third of a weekly series of essays on some of the inspirations for the Labour movement, Paul Richards looks at the Victorian prophet William Morris.

William Morris (1834–96) hated the age he lived in. He hated its architecture, its commerce, its poverty, its politics, its industry, but most of all he hated its individualistic, selfish system of values. At the end of his life he explained:

"The study of history and the love and practice of art forced me into a hatred of the civilisation which, if things were to stop as they are, would turn history into inconsequent nonsense, and make art a collection of the curiosities of the past."

By Hannah Blythyn

The start of this week witnessed two significant milestones on equality – one was Labour’s Equality Act coming into law and the other the opening of the film ‘Made in Dagenham’ depicting the Ford sewing machinists’ struggle for equal pay in 1968. The campaign by the women union members led directly to Barbara Castle bringing in the 1970 Equal Pay Act, which now forms a part of the new Equality Act.

Yes, there still remains much to fight for, particularly to secure the mechanisms to finally achieve equal pay in practice not just principle. However, we recognise that women workers have come a long way since 1968, in terms of the legislative and consequently cultural shift that has taken place.

By Liam Byrne MP

The IMF last night confirmed that George Osborne’s cuts have put the UK recovery in the slow lane – and warned that cuts would need to be rolled back if growth comes in lower than expected. The Independent Office of Budget Responsibility has warned that there is just a 40% chance of the UK hitting its new growth projections.

Here’s the three top-lines: