Miliband mocks coalition’s ‘in it together’ rhetoric
By Oliver Hotham
Labour has set its tone for May's local election campaign with Ed Miliband calling for a return to a society which values "solidarity".
The leader of the opposition, speaking in Southampton, said Labour is the the real party of social change and Britain's best chance at creating a country of "shared sacrifice and reward".
Mr Miliband said the government's often repeated claim of "we're all this together" had been rendered meaningless by the Budget.
He said that no government which had given tax cuts to the rich and continued to allow excessive bonuses for bankers could claim it was looking after the interests of all.
Mr Miliband said in the difficult economic climate people wanted "a sense that there is a national purpose, with shared sacrifice and reward".
He continued: "I think it was this spirit the government was getting at when they took office saying 'we are all in it together'. But while their words were good, they have failed in deed.
"Two weeks on from the Budget, that is its lasting legacy. They can't cut taxes for millionaires and then raise taxes for millions."
May's local elections will be a critical test of the public's feeling towards the government, already at a low over last week's fuel panic and their proposed "snooping" legislation.
But Mr Miliband also faces a test after Labour's loss of the safe seat Bradford West to left-winger George Galloway two weeks ago.
