Ed Miliband would be 'ruthless' on spending

Labour leader Ed Miliband said he would be "ruthless" about his party's public spending priorities despite accepting the need for further cuts beyond the 2015 general election.

Mr Miliband said he would not make any promises on changes to the spending plans set out by Chancellor George Osborne unless he can be "absolutely crystal clear" where the money would come from as he set out the "hard reality" facing the party.

The Labour leader stressed the need for discipline in bringing down the deficit and ruled out more borrowing to fund day-to-day spending.

That means any changes to the Chancellor's announcements in his 2015/16 spending review would require cuts from elsewhere or tax increases.

Mr Miliband said he and shadow chancellor Ed Balls were clear about the approach, and insisted the rest of the Labour Party should get behind it.