'I'm bringing back socialism': Miliband's boast as he unveils plan to increase minimum wage and tax the rich more



Labour leader appears with wife Justine for open-air Q&A session

Asked about bringing back socialism he replied: 'That's what we're doing'



Reveals KPMG boss Alan Buckle will look at increasing minimum wage

Labour claims pay rate would 45p higher if increased in line with inflation



Conference braced for more claims from ex-spin doctor Damian McBride

Master plan: Ed Miliband said his party would tackle unequal pay in Britain as people on the minimum wage are worse off

Ed Miliband today declared he was bringing socialism back to Britain as he unveiled a raft of left-wing policies.

The Labour leader promised to increase wages for the lowest paid, force schools to stay open for longer and monitor how many women appear on TV.

Taking part in an open-air Q&A session in Brighton,Mr Miliband was asked when he would 'bring back socialism'.

The son of Marxist think Ralph Miliband replied: 'That's what we are doing, sir.

'It is about fighting the battle for economic equality, for social equality and for gender equality too.

'That is a battle that is not yet won in our country.'



He warned that people on the minimum wage are more than £860-a-year worse off because of the rising cost of living.

The Labour leader unveiled plans to dramatically increase the guaranteed rate of pay to reverse the impact of inflation in the last three years.

Mr Miliband hit out at global banks who make huge profits but claim they cannot afford to pay their cleaners 'a bit more'.

The Labour party conference gets under way in Brighton this weekend, with a heavy emphasis on tackling the cost of living.

But Mr Miliband faces tough questions about how the raft of policies would be paid for, with spending cuts to continue for several years after the 2015 election.

He has pledged to reverse cuts to housing benefit, dubbed the bedroom tax, at a cost of £470milion, and claims it could be funded by closing loopholes used by hedge funds and the super-rich.

Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman today unveiled plans for 'clear and consistent monitoring of older women in the broadcasting industry'

But in a blow to Mr Miliband's claim to be helping people feeling the pinch, a new poll shows most people still blame Labour.

The YouGov survey found 30 per cent said Labour was to to blame for the fall in living standards over the last few years, compared with 16 per cent who blame the Conservatives alone and 9 per cent who blame the coalition.

All parties together are blamed by 19 per cent while just one per cent said it was the fault of the Lib Dems.

Family pose: Ed Miliband and his wife Justine take their children Daniel (right) and Sam (left) for a walk along Brighton beach on the eve of the Labour Party annual conference

Q&A: Ed Miliband's wife Justine (in red coat, below right) spoke in Brighton ahead of the Labour Party annual conference The Labour leader is also under pressure following revelations in the memoir of former spin doctor Damian McBride suggesting Mr Miliband sent potentially damaging emails to a party official plotting to smear opponents. The memoir suggests Mr Miliband might ‘have problems’ if his exchanges with Labour insider Derek Draper are revealed. The tell-all autobiography, serialised in the Mail, has sent shockwaves through the party ahead of its conference in Brighton. Dressed down in jeans and a grey jumper, Mr Miliband made no mention of the claims as he appeared in Brighton with wife Justine to take questions from the public and announce plans to increase the minimum wage. Alan Buckle, deputy chairman of KPMG international, has been asked to examine how to strengthen the minimum wage so it catches up with where it was in 2010.

Potentially damaging: Damian McBride, pictured right with Kate Garraway, says Miliband might have problems if his emails to Derek Draper (left) get out

Labour claims the £6.19 rate for adults is now 45p lower than if it had kept pace with the rate of inflation. If increased to restore its value, someone working 37 hours-a-week would by £865 better off, before tax.

This year the rate for adults is due to rise by two per cent, but the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) stands at 2.7 per cent.

Mr Miliband told activists and members of the public during his Q&A session: ‘This next election is going to come down to the oldest questions in politics: Whose side are you on and who will you fight for?

Confident: Miliband said he would 'make work pay' for British people

‘The National Minimum Wage is now paying people £20 less per week after inflation than it did when David Cameron came to office. That’s just wrong.

‘When you see that happening and when you think about one of the big banks, do we really think they cannot afford to pay their cleaners a bit more?

‘I want to send a very clear signal today. It’s wrong that millions of people in our country are going out to work unable to afford to bring up their families.

‘We will strengthen the National Minimum Wage. We will make work pay for the workers of Britain.’

Under the Labour plan experts will examine whether there could be different levels of minimum wage in different sectors, to ensure that pay rises do not mean workers get their hours cut instead.

With a run of strong economic indicators and Chancellor George Osborne boasting the economics has ’turned a corner’, all parties are under pressure to show ordinary people will start to see an improvement in their own incomes.

Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable has announced a similar review of the minimum wage.

He has asked the Low Pay Commission to restore its value, which he calculates has fallen in real terms by 10-12 per cent since the crash of 2008.

He said: ’We cannot go on for ever in a low pay and low productivity world in which all we can say to workers is “you have got to take a wage cut to keep your job”.’