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Ed Miliband answers questions in Gateshead but there is no mention of Labour in the backdrop.

It certainly wasn't surprising to see .

He hasn't been here since winning the Labour leadership, and it is of course a heartland for the party.

But it wasn't just any visit.

He brought the rest of the Shadow Cabinet with him, and used the opportunity to open what he hopes will be a useful line of attack against the Government.

He is warning that for the first time for many a year, the next generation could be worse off than the last.

Ed Miliband doesn't blame the Government entirely for that, but he says its policy of cutting harder and faster than he would is making it worse.

So, the next generation could find it harder to get to university, to find a job, and to buy a house.

Instead of the American Dream, he talks of a "British Promise" to future generations, and he says it is in danger of being broken.

It is a message designed to harvest the support of a generation of young people who seem to have rediscovered the politics of protest.

But it might also tap into the concerns of their parents and grandparents, worried that their offspring have a less than glowing future ahead.

The Labour leader also hopes to appear forward-looking and optimistic, and accuse the Government of spreading gloom.

There was though nothing much in the way of policy to back it up.

And of course the Coalition is having none of it.

They say Labour has a brass neck to talk about social mobility when it declined during its 13 years in power.

And they say the party's legacy for young people was actually a national debt of around £22,000 per person.

Rather curiously after Ed Miliband's speech, it was the Conservative MP for West Suffolk, Matthew Hancock, who fired the first salvo to me.

He sent me a news release which pointed out that Labour had left the North East with the highest proportion of NEETS (young people not in education, employment or training) in the country.

And he outlined a range of policies - the pupil premium, the Regional Growth Fund, and National Insurance incentives - that he says will help the region.

The Coalition says its focus is on economic growth, which it sees as the best way of offering opportunities to the next generation.

Are two Eds better than one? The Shadow Cabinet played their part in Ed Miliband's new strategy.

So the battle lines are being drawn.

But why did the Labour leader choose the North East to set out his stall?

It is safe ground, with plenty of supporters to call on.

And there are electoral reasons to come here. It would be a big feather in Mr Miliband's cap if Labour wins Newcastle City Council back from the Lib Dems in May's local elections.

He can also point to the impact of cuts in the region, and the potential danger to people's aspirations.

But ultimately he must know that the next general election won't be won in this part of the world.

Yes, he would be glad to regain Redcar or Stockton South.

But it is the south where Labour needs to gain massive amounts of grounds. Only winning there will get him into Downing Street.

And the branding at his question and answer session in Gateshead was interesting. No Labour logo behind him.

Instead it just said New Politics, Fresh Ideas, with the catchline - "Helping Families Get On".

And if you wanted to watch the speech online, you were directed to that site, which is run by the Labour party, but makes almost no mention of it.

It is clearly some kind of strategy.

And although Ed Miliband chose to address the people of the North East in person, he will be hoping those kind of messages resonate well beyond the party's heartland to areas which didn't vote Labour in 2010.

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