Mark Carney is ace in Rachel Reeves’ already strong hand against Tories

Ex-Bank of England governor's backing for shadow chancellor shows how far Labour's economic message has travelled

• Reeves: I'll be iron chancellor who gets UK economy back on track

The biggest news from Rachel Reeves at Labour's annual conference was just after her speech. As many in the Liverpool convention centre began heading for the exits, the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney publicly backed the shadow chancellor.

It is beyond time we put her energy and ideas into action," he said in a pre-recorded video. From a man once chased halfway around the world by George Osborne when he was Tory chancellor - for the signal the rock star" economist's appointment as governor would send about Britain's economic clout - it was a big coup for Labour.