Ed Miliband and David Cameron claim debate victory

Labour leader Ed Miliband has rejected charges that he is not tough enough to become Britain’s next prime minister, insisting he has a vision to bring about higher living standards and greater job security for workers.

Rejecting often pointed questioning during a TV debate from presenter, Jeremy Paxman, Mr Miliband declared he “didn’t care” about the waves of criticism that have been directed at him: “People see you as a north London geek,” Paxman declared at one point.

“I don’t care what the guy on the Tube says. I care about the British people and what happens to them,” Mr Miliband replied, before adding “You need a toughness in this job. People have thrown a lot at me. People have under-estimated me all along.”

Mr Miliband and Prime Minister David Cameron both experienced 18 minutes of questioning separately from Paxman during the Channel 4/ Sky News-hosted event, while both then spent the same amount of time fielding questions from a selected audience. Downplay the cuts Facing relatively softly phrased questions from the audience during his part of the programme, Mr Cameron sought to downplay the cuts that will happen if the Conservatives are elected in May by saying the cuts would equal “£1 from every £100 of public spending”. Equally, Cameron scored by declaring clearly on a number of occasions – to evident approval from many in the audience, it appeared – that strong public services can only be delivered on the back of a successful economy.

“We have had to make difficult decisions; a lot of them I didn’t want to make,” he said,

“In the next two years, it is basically similar to what we have done already, rather than putting up people’s taxes. It is achievable. I wouldn’t stand here and say it if it wasn’t.” Popular elements Meanwhile, he focused on popular elements of the Conservatives’ welfare changes – such as the cap that families on welfare can claim, so that it does not exceed the average income of working families, but he successfully avoided declaring where billions of further welfare cuts will be found.

Both leaders agreed that they wanted to see falls in the numbers of people employed on zero-hour contracts, where workers have no guaranteed hours; but Mr Miliband went further, saying workers hired on such contracts should automatically win full employment rights after a time.

On the European Union, Mr Cameron said he would push for changes to the UK’s membership terms, but he rejected demands from within his own ranks and elsewhere for an immediate referendum, adding that he is the only major leader pledging to hold one.

Questioned later, Mr Miliband firmly ruled it out, unless the UK signs up to a new EU treaty that sees a transfer of powers to Brussels – which he said is an unlikely prospect in the current climate, though Paxman sought to mock his reply.

Late last night, both sides predictably claimed victory.