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27 September 2011
Last updated at 11:27 ET
By Brian Wheeler
Political reporter, BBC News, in Liverpool
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Ed Miliband: 'We will manage your money properly'
David Cameron represents the "last gasp" of an old system that does not work anymore, Ed Miliband has told the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
The Labour leader claimed Britain was crying out for a new kind of society in which the right people - responsible "grafters" - are properly rewarded.
He attacked "predatory asset-strippers" and the "fast-buck" culture.
And he vowed to fight for "a new bargain in our economy so reward is linked with effort".
The Labour leader was speaking against a backdrop of falling poll ratings and attacks from union leaders leaders angry at his decision not back a TUC day of action over pension changes.
'Wrong values' But he opted to eschew big policy announcements in favour of setting out his personal philosophy and why he feels the country needs to change.
He admitted that Labour had "lost trust" on the economy but he said he was determined to regain it - and he vowed that the "next Labour government will only spend what it can afford".
Continue reading the main story ANLAYSIS
Here, in a nutshell, is Ed Miliband's mesage to the Labour conference.
His top line: 'Hello, my name is Ed Miliband, can I take a moment to introduce myself?
'I am the leader of the Labour party. In case you hadn't noticed.
'I may have been a minister in Gordon Brown's government but I am not him, nor am I Tony Blair.
'I am my own man.
'The system of politics and economics they inherited from the last Conservative government isn't working any more.
'So something needs to be done. And I will do it.
'I'll give you a few pointers of what I might do. But not much more.'
But he said shadow chancellor Ed Balls had been "right" to call for a slowdown in spending cuts - and he pleaded with David Cameron to change course on the economy.
"Recognise what is staring you in the face - and understand that protecting our economy matters more than protecting your failed plan," he advised the prime minister.
He told delegates the phone hacking scandal, the banking crisis and the summer riots "point to something deep in our country - the failure of a system, a way of doing things, an old set of rules.
"An economy and a society too often rewarding not the right people with the right values, but the wrong people with the wrong values."
He said moral decline was due to the way successive governments - including New Labour - had chosen to run the country.
'Down the river' Some of what Margaret Thatcher did - such as council house sales, punitive tax rates and ending the union closed shop and strikes without ballots - had been "right".
And New Labour also achieved much, he argued, but "we did not do enough to change the values of our economy," said the Labour leader.
And the result was a society in which vested interests such as the energy companies and banks prospered and the wrong people - such as Royal Bank of Scotland boss Sir Fred Goodwin - got the most rewards, argued Mr Miliband.
Continue reading the main story DELEGATE REACTION
"It was a well-crafted speech but if people were looking for specific commitments on public services they weren't there. He wanted to show he was his 'own person'". Chris Keates, NASUWT general secretary
"He is his own man not afraid to stand up against the likes of Murdoch and the rest of the elite. He will be listened to by the electorate because the issues he raises are major issues." Paul Kenny GMB general secretary.
"He said he wanted Labour Party to be about work, but it's not, it's about workers. He said he believed in the ballot before strikes, but that's wrong. And what he said about welfare was like listening to someone from the Daily Mail." Anne Gorton, pensioner
"He used the phrase 'there is an alternative' which has been our line for months, but rather than focus on the billions in uncollected tax he focused on the tiny amount of benefit fraud. That's worrying to us." Peter Middleman, PCS
He earned loud cheers from delegates for attacking what he called Britain's "fast buck" culture - saying the country had to learn the lesson that "growth is built on sand if it comes from our predators and not our producers".
He praised companies that contribute to society and accused the government of selling BAE Systems and train maker Bombardier "down the river".
He ended with a sustained attack on David Cameron accusing of betraying public trust on the NHS - and gained a standing ovation with his message: "You can't trust the Tories with the NHS".
He said: "If you want someone who will rip the old rules so that the country works for you, don't expect it from this prime minister.
"On the 50p tax rate, on the banks, on the closed circles of Britain, on welfare, on the NHS, he's not about a new set of rules. He's the last gasp of the old rules."
'Own man' Some delegates booed at the mention of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair - something that was criticised by former cabinet ministers Alistair Darling and David Blunkett. Mr Miliband praised both his predecessors, Mr Blair and Gordon Brown, but stressed: "I'm my own man and I'm going to do things my own way."
There were some concerns from business groups about aspects of Mr Miliband's speech. The Federation of Small Businesses noted a pledge from Mr Miliband that only firms which offered "decent apprenticeships" should be eligible to win big government contracts.
Spokesman John Walker said: "Small businesses already struggle to win public sector contracts and insisting that they must offer an apprenticeship will mean that they miss out on more."
CBI director general John Cridland said the Labour leader was right to encourage "long termism" but added: "With growth weak, Ed Miliband is looking for a new business model, but he must be careful not to characterise some businesses as asset strippers."
But Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said Mr Miliband was "right to separate the wealth creators from the asset strippers".
"He is his own man not afraid to stand up against the likes of Murdoch and the rest of the elite," he said.
Unison chief Dave Prentis said the "passionate" speech had "hit the right buttons".
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Ed Miliband: 'We will manage your money properly'
David Cameron represents the "last gasp" of an old system that does not work anymore, Ed Miliband has told the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
The Labour leader claimed Britain was crying out for a new kind of society in which the right people - responsible "grafters" - are properly rewarded.
He attacked "predatory asset-strippers" and the "fast-buck" culture.
And he vowed to fight for "a new bargain in our economy so reward is linked with effort".
The Labour leader was speaking against a backdrop of falling poll ratings and attacks from union leaders leaders angry at his decision not back a TUC day of action over pension changes.
'Wrong values' But he opted to eschew big policy announcements in favour of setting out his personal philosophy and why he feels the country needs to change.
He admitted that Labour had "lost trust" on the economy but he said he was determined to regain it - and he vowed that the "next Labour government will only spend what it can afford".
Continue reading the main story ANLAYSIS
Here, in a nutshell, is Ed Miliband's mesage to the Labour conference.
His top line: 'Hello, my name is Ed Miliband, can I take a moment to introduce myself?
'I am the leader of the Labour party. In case you hadn't noticed.
'I may have been a minister in Gordon Brown's government but I am not him, nor am I Tony Blair.
'I am my own man.
'The system of politics and economics they inherited from the last Conservative government isn't working any more.
'So something needs to be done. And I will do it.
'I'll give you a few pointers of what I might do. But not much more.'
But he said shadow chancellor Ed Balls had been "right" to call for a slowdown in spending cuts - and he pleaded with David Cameron to change course on the economy.
"Recognise what is staring you in the face - and understand that protecting our economy matters more than protecting your failed plan," he advised the prime minister.
He told delegates the phone hacking scandal, the banking crisis and the summer riots "point to something deep in our country - the failure of a system, a way of doing things, an old set of rules.
"An economy and a society too often rewarding not the right people with the right values, but the wrong people with the wrong values."
He said moral decline was due to the way successive governments - including New Labour - had chosen to run the country.
'Down the river' Some of what Margaret Thatcher did - such as council house sales, punitive tax rates and ending the union closed shop and strikes without ballots - had been "right".
And New Labour also achieved much, he argued, but "we did not do enough to change the values of our economy," said the Labour leader.
And the result was a society in which vested interests such as the energy companies and banks prospered and the wrong people - such as Royal Bank of Scotland boss Sir Fred Goodwin - got the most rewards, argued Mr Miliband.
Continue reading the main story DELEGATE REACTION
"It was a well-crafted speech but if people were looking for specific commitments on public services they weren't there. He wanted to show he was his 'own person'". Chris Keates, NASUWT general secretary
"He is his own man not afraid to stand up against the likes of Murdoch and the rest of the elite. He will be listened to by the electorate because the issues he raises are major issues." Paul Kenny GMB general secretary.
"He said he wanted Labour Party to be about work, but it's not, it's about workers. He said he believed in the ballot before strikes, but that's wrong. And what he said about welfare was like listening to someone from the Daily Mail." Anne Gorton, pensioner
"He used the phrase 'there is an alternative' which has been our line for months, but rather than focus on the billions in uncollected tax he focused on the tiny amount of benefit fraud. That's worrying to us." Peter Middleman, PCS
He earned loud cheers from delegates for attacking what he called Britain's "fast buck" culture - saying the country had to learn the lesson that "growth is built on sand if it comes from our predators and not our producers".
He praised companies that contribute to society and accused the government of selling BAE Systems and train maker Bombardier "down the river".
He ended with a sustained attack on David Cameron accusing of betraying public trust on the NHS - and gained a standing ovation with his message: "You can't trust the Tories with the NHS".
He said: "If you want someone who will rip the old rules so that the country works for you, don't expect it from this prime minister.
"On the 50p tax rate, on the banks, on the closed circles of Britain, on welfare, on the NHS, he's not about a new set of rules. He's the last gasp of the old rules."
'Own man' Some delegates booed at the mention of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair - something that was criticised by former cabinet ministers Alistair Darling and David Blunkett. Mr Miliband praised both his predecessors, Mr Blair and Gordon Brown, but stressed: "I'm my own man and I'm going to do things my own way."
There were some concerns from business groups about aspects of Mr Miliband's speech. The Federation of Small Businesses noted a pledge from Mr Miliband that only firms which offered "decent apprenticeships" should be eligible to win big government contracts.
Spokesman John Walker said: "Small businesses already struggle to win public sector contracts and insisting that they must offer an apprenticeship will mean that they miss out on more."
CBI director general John Cridland said the Labour leader was right to encourage "long termism" but added: "With growth weak, Ed Miliband is looking for a new business model, but he must be careful not to characterise some businesses as asset strippers."
But Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said Mr Miliband was "right to separate the wealth creators from the asset strippers".
"He is his own man not afraid to stand up against the likes of Murdoch and the rest of the elite," he said.
Unison chief Dave Prentis said the "passionate" speech had "hit the right buttons".
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