Speaking at the launch of the party’s manifesto “Britain Can Be Better” in Manchester today, Miliband also pledged to ban “exploitative” zero-hours contracts, which offer workers few or no guaranteed hours, provide tax rebates to firms that pay the living wage and introduce a “gold-standard” system of vocational training and apprenticeships to improve skills.
He added that local authorities would be given a role in strengthening enforcement against those that pay their employees less than the legal amount.
“We will create more paths to success for our young people by introducing a gold-standard system of technical education and training, and the guarantee of an apprenticeship for every school leaver with the grades,” he said.
“We will re-focus existing spending away from low-level apprenticeships for older people and towards a system where apprenticeships are focused on new job entrants, lasting at least two years, and providing level three qualifications of above.”
Miliband also promised to cut and then freeze businesses rates for over 1.5m small businesses by cancelling the Coalition’s planned cut in corporation tax. He added that a new Small Business Administration would be established to ensure procurement contracts are accessible and regulations are “designed with small firms in mind”. Labour would also launch a British Investment Bank with the mission to help businesses grow and create jobs, improve access to finance and support a network of regional banks.
He stressed there would be no increase in VAT, national insurance, or basic or higher rates of income tax and energy bills will be frozen until 2017.
Miliband’s pledges were announced alongside a “budget responsibility lock” – a guarantee that every policy has been fully costed and will not require any additional borrowing.