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Ed Miliband to set out Labour's key business plans Higher wages key to growth - Ed Miliband
(about 2 hours later)
Ed Miliband is to set out his party's key plans for businesses ahead of the general election at a speech in the West Midlands. Boosting the prosperity of ordinary working families is the key to Britain's industrial revival, Ed Miliband is to say in a speech.
The Labour leader is expected to tell an audience at Jaguar Land Rover in Wolverhampton he wants to create what he calls "more inclusive prosperity". The Labour leader will accuse the Tories of focusing on the the rich and powerful in the hope that their wealth trickles down to the rest of society.
And he is is expected to say paying the living wage and banning zero-hours contracts will raise productivity. He will set out a rival economic plan in a speech to workers at Jaguar Land Rover in Wolverhampton.
But the Conservatives said Mr Miliband had "no economic plan". The Tories accused Labour of smothering business in red tape.
Mr Miliband will also say the "vital link" that used to connect family finances to the wealth of the country as a whole is "broken." Setting out his vision of "more inclusive prosperity," Mr Miliband will say the key to boosting productivity is rewarding hard work for those on low and middle incomes.
He is expected to focus on sectors such as retail and social care, outlining plans to tackle the undercutting of wages. He will repeat pledges to offer tax breaks to employers who adopt the living wage and raise the minimum wage closer to average earnings - £8 an hour - by 2020.
Mr Miliband will say his promised cuts to business rates and devolved funding will help small businesses and entrepreneurs. The strategy, which is understood to be based US President Barack Obama's campaign to grow the economy was "from the middle out, not from the top down", was backed by former business secretary Lord Mandelson in an article for The Guardian.
He will also tackle the issue of tax too, claiming tens of billions of pounds are lost in tax avoidance that could be used to fund apprenticeships. Receipt row
But the party has been accused of failing to understand small business after Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said people should seek a receipt for every cash job by a cleaner or handyman.
He told BBC Radio 5's Pienaar's Politics he always demanded a written record, even if it was merely for £10 to trim a hedge, because it was the "right thing to do".
Mr Balls said: "It's not your job to pay their taxes for them and I think most people you give a tenner to are not going to be VAT-registered.
"They've got the legal obligation to make sure they pay their taxes if it's that kind of transaction - but I think the sensible thing for anybody is that you've got a record of it and you've done it properly."
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith told BBC Breakfast Mr Balls's comments demonstrated "Labour's complete lack of understanding of how business works and how people get by".
He added: "Here we have a man that would be the chancellor who is wandering around saying Big Brother is going to watch you carefully, that if you do any cash transactions and don't keep receipts, somehow they are going to punish you. I find that absurd."
Regional banks
In his speech, Mr Miliband will focus on tax avoidance by big business, claiming tens of billions of pounds are lost that could be used to fund apprenticeships.
He will argue there is a choice between "two plans at this election", saying: "A failing plan under which we would carry on as we are with a government claiming the economy is a success when it only works for a handful of people at the top.
"Or a new plan, a better plan, that says this economy must succeed for working families if Britain as a whole is going to succeed.
"Nothing more symbolises their failing plan than seeing the tax gap - between what should be paid and the revenue received - widening while the number of apprenticeships available for young people is falling."
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said Labour's plan was focused on "investing in people", with support for apprenticeships and people wanting to start their own business.Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said Labour's plan was focused on "investing in people", with support for apprenticeships and people wanting to start their own business.
"We're going to set up a British investment bank, with a network of regional banks all over the country, so that people with good ideas, who've got a good business plan, can get access to the finance they need," he told BBC Breakfast."We're going to set up a British investment bank, with a network of regional banks all over the country, so that people with good ideas, who've got a good business plan, can get access to the finance they need," he told BBC Breakfast.
Economic credentials Conservative Business Minister Matthew Hancock said: "The last few weeks have revealed Labour's true colours and their anti-business, anti-jobs attitude.
The BBC's political correspondent Ellie Price said the speech was an attempt to draw battle lines with the Tories - whom Mr Miliband claimed had presided over an economy where wealth came from the "top down". "In the past, Labour smothered small businesses in higher taxes and red tape, and Ed Miliband's damaging tax rises on business would mean fewer jobs, fewer firms and economic chaos."
And, our correspondent adds, it is also a calculation that the message will be enough to convince voters of Labour's economic credentials - despite very public criticism from some business leaders recently.
Business minister Matthew Hancock said: "The last few weeks have revealed Labour's true colours and their anti-business, anti-jobs attitude.
"In the past, Labour smothered small businesses in higher taxes and red tape, and Ed Miliband's damaging tax rises on business would mean fewer jobs, fewer firms and economic chaos.
"As part of our long-term economic plan, we are backing small firms with lower jobs taxes and better infrastructure.
"But Ed Miliband has no economic plan and is simply not up to the job - that's why he's the biggest risk to Britain's future economic security."