Ed's bid for a Black Country full house

But then this is a room filled with the best part of 500 devoted Labour supporters. It's Ed's party in more ways than one.

He is at Bloxwich Leisure Centre to rally his troops ahead of Thursday's council and European elections.

Walsall is the last Black Country council not to be in Labour control.

Despite the opinion polls suggesting there's little space for a fag paper between the Tories and the opposition, the Black Country could be seen as proof that Mr Miliband's leadership is bringing voters back to the fold.

When he became leader in 2010 just Sandwell Council was run by Labour out of the four boroughs. Now, even in Walsall his is the largest single party, a coalition of Tories and Lib Dems are clinging to power. Three more seats on Thursday and all that changes.

Labour is making much of the 'cost of living crisis' and Mr Miliband uses the speech in Walsall to outline plans to overhaul the minimum wage.

He wants it linked to average earnings but stops short of saying it should be the same as the so-called 'living wage' of £7.65 an hour, the amount experts say someone has to earn to cover all their basic living costs.

He refers to a lady by the name of Rachael whom he's met in the West Midlands. A press officer later tells me she's from Castle Vale but isn't there because of 'childcare issues'. She has a proper job to do that isn't covering her basic costs.

"Too many jobs don't give people the security they deserve," Mr Miliband says.

It points out the difference between Labour and the Tories in stark detail. The Conservatives are making much of the economic upturn, of more people in employment than there has been for decades.

Labour says the jobs are low paid, too many of them on 'zero hours' contracts where people have no guarantee of when they will next be called in to work.

"Of course a job is better than no job but that's not good enough for me," Mr Miliband says.

There is a dig at the UK Independence Party, the possible fly in the ointment both for the Tories and Labour in Walsall, who could split the vote on Thursday and distort the results.

"UKIP do not offer workable answers," he tells the audience. "In Walsall, keeping the flame of Thatcherism alive is not going to solve the problem."

Ed then uses the tactic all the party leaders have of quoting someone he met while off duty - although surrounded by party activists, advisers and various helpers it's hard to imagine a scenario in which he isn't on the job.

"I had a guy come up to me on the train, a school caretaker and he said 'Ed, you've got to do something about these zero hours contracts'.

"It's a basic principle that if you do regular hours you have a regular contract, not a zero hours one.

"I think the minimum wage is the best endorsement of the fundamental value that hard work should be rewarded with fair pay.

"We've ended the exploitation of poverty pay but when you have five million people, five million people," he emphasises the point, "that is a scandal."

The Labour leader has brought with him Alan Buckle, formerly of KPMG, who has looked into low pay for him.

He explains that there will still be a lower minimum wage for young people.

But it is going to take five years to put it all into effect. There will not be just one minimum wage, but different ones for different sectors of business based on what a Labour government thinks they can afford to pay without cutting jobs.

The announcement is short on detail, but comes with plenty of passion.

"If you do a hard day's work you should not be in poverty," Mr Miliband says. "The living wage is an idea whose time has come." He takes questions from the floor. There are a few easy wins for him in the form of a promise to protect pensioners' free bus travel and a repeat of his promise to axe the controversial 'bedroom tax' (Tories would prefer we called it the removal of the spare room subsidy but it isn't as catchy').

Rachel Reeves, the shadow work and pensions secretary who has accompanied the leader to Walsall, calls the bedroom tax 'cruel and viscious'.

There's no argument from the audience with any of what's been raised, apart from a Tory candidate who has managed to get in on the meeting.

Douglas Hansen-Luke is challenging Labour's David Winnick in next year's General Election.

After another standing ovation for Mr Miliband, Mr Hansen-Luke is quick to point out the Tories want to put the minimum wage up too.

"There are other things to consider," he says. "There are wages for other people, the loss of profits. What we really need to see is growth in education and skills."

By this stage Ed Miliband is sitting in a darkened room with a curtain drawn, in front of the remnants of a buffet. But he beams delightedly as I remind him of how the political make up of Black Country councils has changed since he became leader. Walsall would be a full house.

"I'm optimistic," he admits. It's an honest, rather than boastful answer. "We're running a really good campaign. We're showing that in difficult times Labour can make a difference."

Why does he think Labour has not yet broken through in Walsall? "I'll let other people speculate about that," he laughs.

"We're doing really well here. Our campaign has real resonance."

The spokesmen suggest we take a picture outside rather than in the gloomy back room.

It gives me time to tell the Labour leader that I think he could have got a few different kinds of people into the room, as opposed to just Labour supporters.

"Well we had a Tory candidate in there," he says as he is led away by an aide.

Critics might say if he really wants to connect with the voters he might need to surround himself with more than the occasional Conservative.

But Ed's tactic is the long game.

"It's better to under promise and over deliver than over promise and under deliver," he had said during the meeting.

That sort of thing resonates well with an audience of the faithful. But no-one, of any party, gets a standing ovation on the doorstep.