Nick Clegg to take on Ed Miliband over ‘cost of living crisis’

Nick Clegg will today launch a fightback against Ed Miliband’s successful campaign on the “cost of living crisis”, claiming that a Labour government would wreck the economic recovery.

The Liberal Democrat leader will warn voters in a speech in London: “The only route to higher living standards is shared prosperity and sustainable growth. So don’t be fooled again: you cannot afford Labour. Let loose in government on their own, they would wreck the recovery - costing jobs, driving up interest rates and undermining the growth needed to cut tax bills and fund public services.”

His tough language reflects Lib Dem concerns that the Conservatives have not mounted an effective counter-attack after Mr Miliband pledged to freeze energy prices for 20 months if Labour wins power.

Insisting that “Plan A” on cutting the deficit has worked, the Deputy Prime Minister will claim that Labour wants to talk about the cost of living “because they’ve lost the bigger economic argument.”

However, he will put distance between the Lib Dems and the Tories by saying: “My party didn’t come into government just to make cuts. For us, this has always been about setting in motion a much more fundamental overhaul of our economy so that Britain never finds itself here again.”