Ed Miliband 'absolutely determined' to push through Labour funding reforms That wasn't the vision of the founders of our party. I don't think it's your vision either. And it's certainly not my vision. That's why I want to make each and every affiliated trade union member a real part of their local party. Making a real choice to be a part of our party. So they can have a real voice in it. And why is that such an exciting idea? Because it means we could become a Labour Party not of 200,000 people, but 500,000 or many more. A party rooted in every kind of workplace in the country. A party rooted in every community in the country. A genuine living, breathing movement. Of course, it is a massive challenge. It will be a massive challenge for the Labour Party to reach out to your members in a way that we have not done for many years and persuade them to be part of what we do. And like anything, that is hard, it is a risk. But the bigger risk is just saying let's do it as we have always done it. Mr Miliband, who received polite applause at the end of his speech, added: "We must change. And I am absolutely determined this change will happen. It is the only way we can build a One Nation party. So we can build a One Nation country. And most importantly a One Nation economy, one that works for all working people, not just a few at the top. A delegate who challenged Labour's support for austerity measures was applauded as she accused Mr Miliband of giving "contradictory" messages. Janice Godrich from the PCS union said: "Ed Balls says this is the wrong sort of recovery but you are also fundamentally committed to the Tories' spending plans. You say the next election will be about living standards but you are committed to extending the pay cap. Your policies seem contradictory and they are confusing people. Mr Miliband told her: "No, we are not in favour of austerity. I'm absolutely clear about that. But he added, in what he accepted might be a "disappointing answer" for Ms Godrich, "I'm not going to pretend there are going to be easy choices for the next Labour government." "There will be a deficit that we have to reduce, we are going to have to have strict spending limits," he said. I might as well be honest with you about what we can and can't achieve. We can make a real difference to this country, we can invest for the future, we can make different choices, we can set ourselves on a path to a different economy but we also have to be credible and get the deficit down and that is the approach we are going to follow. Len McCluskey, leader of Unite, praised the speech and said Mr Miliband was "beginning to seal the deal" with workers, adding: "We look forward to getting more meat on the bone in the coming months." Mr McCluskey said he believed Mr Miliband looked like a "real leader"who had addressed many issues affecting unions, putting down a lot of flags" for the future. He said: "There has been a lot of build-up to the speech and there was pressure on him, but he looked very relaxed and gave a very good speech. Some of the issues he talked about were very encouraging, such as apprenticeships, building homes and regional investment. There was a lot of substance and I was pleased he challenged the Government over their attempts to demonise unions. I would have liked to hear more on issues such as workers' rights but he came up with some good answers and we look forward to working with him. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said: "When Ed spoke about the things that matter to people like jobs, zero-hours contracts, poverty, austerity and building a fairer society, they listened. But lectures about the 'challenge' of changing the historic relationship between unions and the Labour Party are a turn-off. He talks about having the 'courage to change' but I was always told if something ain't broke, why fix it? It was disappointing to hear him talk about sticking to strict spending limits. He talked of people struggling but didn't acknowledge that one remedy is a decent pay increase. It was disappointing, too, that he didn't even mention the NHS and what he would do to protect and defend it. Nor did he give any firm commitments on affordable housing. Today it was the Tories who were talking about the NHS, while Labour is seen to be focused on in-fighting with ordinary working trade unionists. The Tories must be rubbing their hands in glee. Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "The NUT welcomes Ed Miliband's statement of his intention to tackle the scandal of 'zero hours' contracts. There is no place for these and other exploitative employment conditions which deny basic rights to security and equality. Agency supply teachers in particular need to be able to access the same pay and pension entitlements as their directly employed colleagues and we believe a review of the operation of the agency worker regulations is also needed. We welcome his reassurance that there will be no more free schools under a Labour Government and that local authorities must be returned to having a proper and pivotal role in education. Bob Crow, leader of the Rail Maritime and Transport union said: "This was a wasted opportunity to engage with the trade unions from a Labour leader who looks like a terrified rabbit caught in the glare of of the Tory headlights. He said nothing about workers' rights or taking rail and other services back into public ownership. Janice Godrich, president of the Public and Commercial Services union, asked Mr Miliband during a question and answer session: "Ed Balls says this is the wrong sort of recovery, yet you're committed to the Tories' spending plans. Your policies seem contradictory and they're confusing people. In response, the Labour leader said: "We are not in favour of austerity." But he confirmed Labour would stick to Tory spending limits in order to appear "credible." Speaking afterwards Ms Godrich said: "Austerity isn't working, our members know that and people up and down the country know it. It is incredibly disappointing that, in front of an audience of delegates representing more than six million workers, Ed Miliband failed to offer the alternative people so desperately want and need. But he was expected to face more rigorous questions in a meeting behind closed doors with the general secretaries of affiliated unions following his speech. The address included a number of passages designed to sweeten the pill of his proposals for union members, including measures to clamp down on "exploitative" zero-hours contracts and a reaffirmation of plans for a compulsory jobs guarantee for young people. Mr Miliband said Conservative leader David Cameron "oozes contempt" for the trade union movement and its members. He said the coalition Government was presiding over "a recovery for the privileged few in our society," which was passing by young people, the long-term unemployed and millions of households whose living standards have fallen over the past few years. "The next election is a high stakes election," said the Labour leader. High stakes for your members. High stakes for working people. High stakes for our country. We're in the fourth year of this Government. We know who they stand for - a privileged few at the top. We know that they will never create an economy that works for working people. It is not what they believe. We know how they'll try to divide our country for political advantage. I stand for a different and better way forward for our country. A vision that draws on the best of our traditions. He evoked the memory of Clement Attlee's Labour administration which created the NHS and expanded the welfare state during a period of austerity in the aftermath of the Second World War "I think about the 1945 government," said Mr Miliband. We didn't lower our sights in the face of difficulty. We raised them. That government was a One Nation government. It listened to the voices of all. Used the talents of all. Built a country fit for all. My vision: a One Nation Britain. Let's rebuild that country together. Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: "Instead of taking on the unions, Ed Miliband has buckled under pressure. He's backed down over Falkirk, backed down over serious reforms to the union link, and even called for £13.5 billion more borrowing and more debt in this one speech alone. And as the man who used to manage Labour's finances has confirmed, even the proposals Ed Miliband did outline put more power over Labour's funding in Len McCluskey's hands. While Ed Miliband is spending his time trying to soothe his biggest paymasters, we're dealing with the deficit, controlling immigration and fixing the welfare system to help hard-working people.