Labour must use values of Durham to rebuild Britain, Miliband tells gala

Closing his 11-minute speech as the first Labour leader to address the Gala in 23 years, Mr Miliband said Labour was coming together, inspired by its heritage, taking courage from its battles won and understanding its task for the future: "To rebuild our country on the values of the people of Durham, on the values of the people of the North-East, on the values of the people of Britain.

"Responsibility, community, fairness, equality and justice. That is my mission. That is our task. That is the battle we can win together," he said.

Conservatives slammed Mr Miliband for attending what is Britain’s biggest trade union event, saying he was ‘cosying up to his militant, left-wing union paymasters’.

But he dismissed suggestions of an electoral risk and said he had enjoyed the day, although he declined to confirm whether he would return next year.

Mr Miliband was given a generally warm reception on Durham Racecourse and on the balcony of the Royal County Hotel, although some heckled his speech, shouting ‘liar’ and ‘What about Afghanistan?’ He said it was a privilege to attend the Gala, paid tribute to former speakers, including Keir Hardie, Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson and Barbara Castle, and said he was proud to follow in their footsteps.

He also paid tribute to Dave Guy, the Durham Miners’ Association president who was too ill to attend, saying Mr Guy had fought for justice for mining communities every day of his life.

Criticised for his closeness to the trade unions, Mr Miliband said Labour was founded by them and stronger for their members.

He said coal was part of the country’s heritage but "clean coal" must also be part of its future.

But Mr Miliband spent much of his speech attacking the government, saying it had: · Applied one rule for those at the top of society and another for everyone else; · Cut taxes for millionaires and raised taxes for pensioners; · Allowed the banks to continue with ‘business as usual’ as more businesses went bankrupt; and · Tried to divide the country: between public and private, rich and poor and north and south.

"They’re the same old Tories: not building for the future but ripping up our foundations.

"Not healing our country but harming it. Not uniting our country, but dividing it," he said, to much applause.

The government’s cruellest acts had been towards young people, he said, and vowed never to leave them without hope, work or a future.

Mr Miliband told of a letter he had received last week from a man in Meadowfield, near Durham, whose father and grandfather were miners and who is now a full-time carer for his 91-year-old mother.

"He knows the values of compassion. He represents the values of the Gala and of Durham," he said: community, looking out for each other and never walking by on the other side.

He said the people of Britain were being let down by its government and said the next Labour government would: tax bankers’ bonuses, break up the banks, get young people working again, break Rupert Murdoch’s power, end the ‘rip off’ of energy companies and tackle unchallenged power, injustice and unfairness wherever they were found.

After receiving a standing ovation, Mr Miliband left the stage and tried to make his way to a Labour Party tea tent for media interviews but was mobbed. However, most people were friendly: asking for autographs or photographs or wanting to shake his hand.