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Saturday 17 January 2015 8:58 am

Ed Miliband: Britain “choking on their cornflakes” over Cameron’s pay rise from oil price plea

By: Lynsey Barber

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Ed Miliband has slammed David Cameron for urging businesses to pass on savings from falling oil prices to staff in the form of higher wages.

The Labour leader said the country were “choking on their cornflakes” after hearing Cameron’s plea, speaking at the Fabian Society conference.

He accused the Prime Minister of years of “denial, complacency and failure” over the cost of living crisis.

"They have denied the cost of living crisis. They have been woefully out of touch with the daily struggles of families. They have rubbished the idea that people are worse off. Even this week, George Osborne was saying we were set under him to be 'the richest country in the world', and that his economic victory is complete.

Imagine our surprise when we wake up this morning and we now hear that the Prime Minister thinks Britain needs a pay rise. I tell you, people across the country are choking on their cornflakes. This is someone who has spent months and years telling us there is no cost of living crisis and if there ever was one, it’s been fixed. You could not make it up.

Five years of denial, complacency and failure on living standards and less than four months before an election he claims to have woken up to the problem. Who is he trying to kidm" said Miliband.

Miliband also took another swipe at Cameron for not taking part in the televised leaders debates in the run-up to the General Election in May.  "Why did the chicken cross the road?" joked Miliband.  "To avoid TV election debates."           

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