Ed Miliband: You can’t fund the NHS with an IOU

He says that Labour should not be less ambitious in a time of scarcity, instead but more ambitious. He wants to present Labour “not only as the party of change but the party of responsibility too.”

He says that in recent days we have seen the Conservatives “spending promises around with absolutely no idea where the money is coming from.” Miliband hits out at George Osborne’s promise to provide the £8 billion Simon Stevens says is necessary for the NHS without explaining how it will be funded.

He says “nothing is as dangerous” as promising to protect the NHS without “explaining how it will be paid for.”

“You can’t fund the NHS with an IOU”, he adds, which goes down well in the hall.

Grant Shapps, the Conservative party chairman, has tweeted an attack on Labour’s record on the NHS in Wales.