Coalition condemned for its 'race to the bottom' in upbeat speech by Labour leader in Brighton
Labour will lead Britain in a "race to the top", in contrast to the Tories, who want a "race to the bottom" which would turn the country into a sweatshop, Ed Miliband pledged on Tuesday.
In a highly personal speech, in which he spoke of the values of decency instilled by his mother, Miliband opened a new chapter in his leadership of Labour as he focused on optimistic ideas to ensure "Britain can do better".
The Labour leader has been criticised for a lack of policy detail in his two most recent conference speeches, in which he first outlined plans to create a new form of responsible capitalism and then spoke of his plans to forge a One Nation Britain.
But he answered his critics on Tuesday as he unveiled a series of substantial policy initiatives headed by a pledge to freeze energy prices for the first 18 months of a Labour government and an ambitious programme to build 200,000 houses a year by 2020.
Speaking without notes for just over an hour and winning one of his most enthusiastic conference receptions, he set out his ideas within a new framework in which Labour will acknowledge that global forces are to blame for breaking the "vital link" between economic growth and rising wages. "They used to say a rising tide lifts all boats, now the rising tide just seems to lift the yachts," he said.
But in a direct challenge to George Osborne, who said earlier this month that complaining about the rising costs of living does not amount to an economic policy, Miliband said the Tories would compound the crisis as wage rises fall behind inflation.
"The cost of living crisis isn't an accident of David Cameron's economic policy, it is his economic policy. He believes in this thing called the global race, but what he doesn't tell you is that he thinks for Britain to win the global race you have to lose – lower wages, worse terms and conditions, fewer rights at work.
"Britain can't win a race for the fewest rights at work against the sweatshops of the world and the more we try the worse things will get for you."
Miliband reinforced his main message – that Labour would lead a race to the top and the Tories would lead a race to the bottom – by reeling off a series of areas where Labour would protect workers.
He won some of the biggest cheers as he said: "Employers not paying the minimum wage and government turning a blind eye – it's a race to the bottom; not under my government. Shady gangmasters exploiting people in industries from construction to food processing – it's a race to the bottom; not under my government. Rogue landlords, putting 15 people in tied housing – it's a race to the bottom; not under my government."
Miliband showed he believes Osborne made a grave political error in his recent speech – the chancellor said the return of economic growth showed Labour had comprehensively lost the argument on the economy – when he mocked the Tories' attempts to claim credit.
Pointing out that Osborne is presiding over the slowest recovery in a century, he said: "Next week we are going to see David Cameron resuming his lap of honour for how brilliantly he's done as prime minister. Claiming credit for his enormous achievements, how he has saved the economy as they put it. No doubt he'll even be taking off his shirt and flinging it into the crowd expecting adoration from the British people like he did recently on holiday."
The Labour leader reinforced his economic attack on the Tories with a strong assault on the character of Cameron, who had put the interests of Rupert Murdoch over the interests of the parents of the missing girl Madeleine McCann.
In what is likely to be seen as his strongest attack on the PM, he said: "If you want to know the difference between me and David Cameron, here's an easy way to remember it. When it was Murdoch versus the McCanns, he took the side of Murdoch. When it was the tobacco lobby versus the cancer charities, he took the side of the tobacco lobby … he may be strong at standing up to the weak but he is always weak when it comes to standing up against the strong."
Miliband, who still faces criticism for destroying the political career of his older brother, David, when he stood against him for the Labour leadership in 2010, said he was best placed to move the party on from the Blair-Brown era.
"Leadership is about risks and difficult decisions," he said. "It is about those lonely moments when you have to peer deep into your soul. I ran for the leadership of this party – it was really hard for my family, but I believed Labour needed to turn the page and I was the best person to do it."
He spoke of how his mother, the activist Marion Kozak, had taught him decency by teaching him to listen to people and never to be contemptuous of the views of others.
"Some people will say but you have to leave decency behind when it comes to politics. Well I say they are wrong, because only if you reach out and listen can you do the most important thing a leader can do, the most important qualification in my view for being prime minister."