General Election 2015: Miliband promises an end to 'zero hours Britain'

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But speaking in Yorkshire today, Mr Miliband will attack Mr Cameron for the way he handled Jeremy Paxman’s questions about zero hours contracts on the first leaders’ TV programme of the election last Thursday. Writing for The Independent, Douglas Alexander, Labour’s campaign chief, says the election is “a battle between two different kinds of leader.” He describes Mr Cameron as “out of touch” and someone who “wants to run the country, not change the way the country is run”, claiming his campaign is based on “painting a false picture of Labour.” An estimated 1.8m people in Britain are on zero hours contracts and Labour’s new pledge would give 90 per cent of them the right to move to a regular contract if they wished. The Liberal Democrat manifesto may pledge further measures to clamp down on “abusive practices.” Under Labour’s plan, provisions under existing employment law to stop workers being sacked just before they win new rights would be extended to zero hours contracts to prevent bosses getting round the 12-week rule. Ministers said the figures undermined Mr Miliband’s central campaign theme on the “cost of living crisis.” Meanwhile, GDP rose by 2.8 per cent last year, up from a previous estimate of 2.6 per cent, confirming Britain as the fastest growing of the G7 major advanced economies.