Ed Miliband believes the coalition government’s honeymoon period is over The coming year will be one of consequences for hard-working families as the reality of the government’s cuts bite, Labour leader Ed Miliband says.
In his new year message, Mr Miliband said the coalition’s deficit reduction plan was “irresponsible”.
He denied the cuts were necessary and claimed they were instead “born of political choice”.
Mr Miliband, who beat his brother David to the leadership, said Labour offered a “better and more optimistic future”.
The former energy and climate change secretary said: “2011 will be a year of consequences for Britain. Consequences that will be felt by hard-working families across the country.
“Consequences of the decision taken to reduce the deficit at what I believe to be an irresponsible pace and scale.”
Mr Miliband, who has been leading the Labour Party since September, said: “Many people feel powerless in the face of these decisions that will affect their lives, families and communities.
“The political forces in Whitehall which have made these choices appear forbidding and unheeding.”
Mr Miliband also criticised the removal of a cap on university tuition fees in England and the pending abolition of the educational maintenance allowance for teenagers.
He said: “Labour’s challenge and duty in 2011 is to be people’s voice in tough times and show that these are changes born of political choice by those in power not necessity.
“And we will take the next steps on the journey to win people’s trust that we offer a better, more optimistic future for Britain,” he added.
Mr Miliband said Labour had to do a lot to regain voters’ trust and said the party would be arguing for a “proper” economic strategy rather than just “cuts, cuts, cuts”.
He also pointed to recent government U-turns over funding school sport and the Bookstart scheme as signs that the coalition would back down if enough pressure was brought to bear on them.
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