Miliband's Labour conference speech: What he forgot to say on the deficit

Ed Miliband has admitted he forgot parts of his keynote Labour Party conference speech as he sought to fend of criticism that he neglected to tackle the economy.

In a speech in which he sought to appeal to the core Labour vote with a promise to plough £2.5bn into the NHS, it was also revealed that he had left out a section of his speech that dealt with reducing the deficit.

Although reaction to his speech was broadly positive, Unite union general secretary Len McCluskey said Mr Miliband's failure to talk about the economy had been a "glaring omission".

This morning, Mr Miliband insisted that the economy was "incredibly high" on his list of priorities and said shadow chancellor Ed Balls had set out a "clear plan" for getting the deficit down earlier in the week.

Asked if he'd forgotten some of his speech, Mr Miliband said he could “not remember all the details” which was “one of the perils” of his style of delivery.

"I didn't do one part of the speech and I added in other bits," he told BBC Breakfast.

"But, you know, people have to make their own judgments on this. I chose to give my speech, as I have done for the last three years, in this particular way.

"You can have politicians just reading out a speech. I think we have got to change the way politics works."

Below is the extract he forgot to read out:

Here’s the hard truth: the Tories have no plan for the future for you and your family. That’s why we need Labour’s plan for Britain’s future.

And in the four years since we lost the last election, we have learnt hard, important lessons. They start with government having to live within its means. If people feel cynical now — and they do — think how much worse it would be if we made false promises.

There won’t be money to spend after the next election. Britain will be spending £75 billion on the interest on our debt alone. That’s more than the entire budget for our schools.

So as Ed Balls announced yesterday, Labour’s plan is based on a tough new approach. Eliminating the deficit as soon as possible in the next parliament. Getting the national debt falling. And no proposals for additional borrowing.

We will get the deficit down.

The next Labour government will deal with our nation’s debts. And it is because government won’t have the money to spend, it is more important than ever that everyone does their bit so we change Britain together.

One Nation Labour has changed from New Labour — businesses have a responsibility to pay their taxes, respect their customers and treat their workers fairly.

Because together we can and on our own we can’t. Those who can work have a responsibility to do so. Because together we can and on our own we can’t.

Immigration benefits our country but those who come here have a responsibility to learn English and earn their way. And employers have a responsibility not to exploit migrant workers and undercut wages.

Because together we can and on our own we can’t. Government, business, working people acting together. Living up to their responsibilities. A new ethic. A national effort. Labour’s plan for Britain’s future.