Labour will offer a “new bargain” to the people of Britain to end the “fast buck” culture of the last 30 years and reshape society so that hard work and responsibility are rewarded, the party’s leader Ed Miliband said today.
In his keynote speech to Labour’s conference in Liverpool, Mr Miliband said he wanted to become prime minister so he can “write a new chapter in our country’s history”.
Launching a scathing attack on “unjustified rewards” at the top of companies, asset-stripping “predators” in business and bankers who profited even as their mistakes caused economic meltdown, Mr Miliband said that a Labour government would use tax breaks, regulation and contracts to reward firms which contribute to their community.
And he said he was determined to reform the welfare system to ensure that it pays to work, to end “cosy cartels” which set top pay, break up the “rigged market” which allows energy companies to charge high prices and rebalance Britain’s economy away from the reliance on financial services and towards production and manufacturing.
Against the backdrop of opinion polls suggesting voters do not see him as a potential prime minister, Mr Miliband sought to shake off the legacy of the last two Labour leaders to hold power, telling the conference: “I’m not Tony Blair. I’m not Gordon Brown either... I’m my own man and I’m going to do things my own way.”
And he declared that he was ready to take risks to break away from the “something for nothing” culture which has taken root in Britain over the past three decades and created a “quiet crisis” where those who do the right thing no longer believe they will be rewarded for it.
After the banking crash, MPs’ expenses scandal, phone-hacking and the summer riots in England’s cities, it was now a once-in-a-generation “moment when we need to change the way we do things”, he said.
The “fill-your-boots” approach of bankers and high finance, the “something for nothing” promises of celebrity culture and the “take-what-you-can” mentality of inner-city gangs do not represent the true values of the British people, said Mr Miliband.
“It will be a tough fight to change Britain,” he said. “But I’m up for the fight: The fight for a new bargain.
“A new bargain in our economy so reward is linked to effort; A new bargain based on your values so we can pay our way in the world; A new bargain to ensure responsibility from top to bottom.
“And a new bargain to break open the closed circles, and break up vested interests, that hold our country back.
“I aspire to be your prime minister not for more of the same, but to write a new chapter in our country’s history.
“The promise of Britain lies in its people. The tragedy of Britain is that it is not being met. My mission, our mission, is to fulfil the promise of each so we fulfil the promise of Britain.”
PA