Ed Miliband vows to wield the axe on public services

Ed Miliband will make a pitch for the political centre ground today by pledging to cut the budgets of most Whitehall departments every year until the nation’s books are balanced. In his most crucial economic speech since becoming Labour leader, he will tackle the party’s lack of credibility on the issue by unveiling a “tough but balanced” approach to clearing the deficit by the end of the 2015-20 parliament.