Ed Miliband unveils stone carved with Labour pledges to be placed at Downing St if he wins

But reactions on social media suggest it could be Labour's 'tombstone'

Labour leader Ed Miliband unveils Labour's pledges carved into a stone plinth in Hastings (PA)

Ed Miliband has unveiled a giant stone slab inscribed with Labour’s six election pledges – and vowed to have it installed at Downing Street if his party wins the general election.

Speaking in front of the 8ft 6ins-high piece of limestone, the Labour leader said he would keep the stone “in a place where we can see it every day as a reminder of our duty to keep Labour’s promises”.

Labour said the stone came as part of an effort to rebuild the public’s trust in politics, after the issue was highlighted by a series of pointed questions from the audience during last week’s final TV debate on BBC Question Time.

But the stone was widely mocked on social media on Sunday morning as being like something out of political satire The Thick Of It, and said it could be interpreted as Labour’s “tombstone” if it lost.

The pledges on the stone read: “A strong economic foundation”, “higher living standards for working families”, “an NHS with the time to care”, “controls on immigration”, “a country where the next generation can do better than the last” and “homes to buy and action on rents”.

“Our six pledges form the basis of our plan for working people,” Mr Miliband said.

“These six pledges are now carved in stone, and they are carved in stone because they won’t be abandoned after the general election.

“I want the British people to remember these pledges, to remind us of these pledges, to insist on these pledges, because I want the British people to be in no doubt – we will deliver them. We will restore faith in politics by delivering what we promised at this general election.”

There was a mixed response on Twitter, however:

Mr Miliband accused David Cameron and Nick Clegg of “helping to erode trust in political leaders by the way they broke promises on issues like tuition fees and immigration after the last election”.

Writing in this newspaper, he accused the Tories of running the country “for the richest and most powerful”, and said: “We have five days to choose a different direction.”