Miliband gives party four years to regain economic credentials

During his maiden speech as party leader he said he was serious about reducing the national debt, suggesting the deficit should be tackled slower than Labour had previously proposed to avoid damaging the economic recovery and slashing public services.

Mr Miliband said: "I won't oppose every cut the coalition proposes. There will be some things the coalition does that we won't like as a party but we will have to support.

"I am serious about reducing our deficit. But I am also serious about doing it in a way that learns the basic lessons of economics, fairness and history."

Mr Miliband also used the hour long address to defend himself against accusations that under his leadership the party will lurch to the left, calling on the unions to behave "responsibly".

He tackled a number of fundamental issues – including a bruising critique of why his party lost power and an admission that the Iraq war was "wrong", as well as paying tribute to his "extraordinary" brother David.

Amid growing speculation that the shadow foreign secretary could step down from the party's top team in the wake of his defeat, Mr Miliband described him as an "inspiring" figure.

DEFICIT

The speech included the clearest indication yet of Labour's alternative to tackling the deficit, with Mr Miliband admitting that some cuts would have to be made, but stating that the coalition Government programme was too fast and growth should be at the heart of the recovery.

He spoke of a need to challenge old thinking and slammed the "irresponsible" decisions to deprive Sheffield Forgemasters of an 80m loan and halting the Building Schools for the Future programme.

"The starting point for a responsible plan is to halve the deficit over four years, but growth is our priority and we must remain vigilant against a downturn," he said. "You see when you cancel thousands of new school buildings at a stroke, it isn't just bad for our kids, it's bad for construction companies at a time when their order books are empty.

"When you deprive Sheffield Forgemasters of a loan, a loan from government which would be paid back, you deprive Britain of the ability to lead the world in new technology."

"And when you reduce your economic policy simply to deficit reduction alone you leave Britain without a plan for growth.

It's not responsible, it's irresponsible and we should say so."

FOREIGN POLICY

Mr Miliband sought to distance himself from the Iraq war, telling the party it was "wrong".

In a clear move to separate himself from the previous Government's hugely divisive decision to invade, he said: "Many sincerely believed that the world faced a real threat. I criticise nobody faced with making the toughest of decisions and I honour our troops who fought and died there.

"But I do believe that we were wrong. Wrong to take Britain to war and we need to be honest about that."

He also backed the work of the troops in Afghanistan, praising the "enormous sacrifices on our behalf" by the armed forces and their families and declared the military action was "a necessary response to terrorism".

IMMIGRATION

The issue of immigration provided one of the key moments of the General Election campaign when Gordon Brown, unaware he was still wearing a live TV microphone, described Rochdale resident Gillian Duffy as a "bigoted woman" after meeting her in the town.

It was also an issue that many Labour candidates denied was being raised on the doorstep, claiming it was being whipped up by Tory campaign rhetoric, however Mr Miliband was quick to admit that was a mistake.

"All of us heard it," he told the conference. "Like the man I met in my constituency who told me he had seen his mates wages driven down by the consequences of migration.

"If we don't understand why he would feel angry—and it wasn't about prejudice—then we are failing to serve those who we are in politics to represent."

He called for tougher regulations to clamp down on employers seeking to exploit migrant labour in order to undercut wages, and for greater protection for agency workers.

LABOUR'S FAILURES

Mr Miliband offered a brutally honest assessment of why Labour lost power.

He admitted the economy became too reliant on the financial sector, the party failed to tackle issues such as immigration, personal debt and tuition fees and faith in politics was damaged by the expenses scandal.

He said: "You saw jobs disappear and economic security undermined, I understand your anger at a Labour government that claimed it could end boom and bust.

"And we came to look like a new establishment in the company we kept, the style of our politics and our remoteness from people.

"I stand before you, clear in my task: to once again make Labour a force that takes on established thinking, doesn't succumb to it, speaks for the majority and shapes the centre ground of politics."

LABOUR'S ACHIEVEMENTS

The party's legacy after 13 years in power formed a key part to the speech to raise spirits at the conference and bring out the central theme of optimism.

Everything from equalities in Parliament to the NHS, education and the Northern Ireland peace process was relived as Mr Miliband tried to lift the crowd.

He said: "I am proud that our government lifted hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty, hundreds of thousands of pensioners out of poverty, proud that we created the highest levels of employment in Britain's history.

"Our legacy is a generation for whom newly built schools and modernised hospitals are an everyday fact of life.

"I am proud of the fact that because of what we did, yes we did save the National Health Service in this country."

VALUES

Parts of the speech were very personal, as the new leader revealed how his family's experiences at the hands of the Nazis inspired him and elder brother David to enter politics.

He said his "love" for Britain came from the opportunities the country gave his Jewish parents, Ralph and Marion.

"In 1940, my grandfather, with my Dad, climbed on to one of the last boats out of Belgium," he said.

"They had to make a heartbreaking decision - to leave behind my grandmother and my father's sister. They spent the war in hiding, in a village sheltered by a brave local farmer.

"At the same time, on the other side of Europe, my mother, aged five, had seen Hitler's army march into Poland.

"She spent the war on the run sheltering in a convent and then with a Catholic family that took her in.

"My love for this country comes from this story. Two young people fled the darkness that had engulfed the Jews across Europe and in Britain they found the light of liberty."