Miliband on attack over the economy

Labour leader Ed Miliband will today tell the TUC conference current economic policy risks failing a generation, saying Britain has reached a “fork in the road”.

In a keynote speech, he will say: “Unless we are willing to challenge many of the assumptions on which economic policy has been based for a generation, we will fail the next generation.”

He will add: “Financial services are important to Britain and will continue to be so, but unless we broaden our economic base and introduce reforms to tackle irresponsibility of bankers, we will be exposed to crisis as in 2007.

“While jobs must be our priority, we must ensure they are decent jobs at decent wages and opportunities are extended to all our young people.”

Mr Miliband will also attack Chancellor George Osborne’s “obsession” with scrapping the 50p tax rate.

Meanwhile, at least one in six people in Scotland are unable to secure a full-time job, according to new estimates by the Scottish Trades Union Congress.

It said the official unemployment rate of 7.7 per cent fails to take into account the number of people who want a full-time job but are forced to work part-time, and those who want to work but have not been signing on.