Photos Giuseppe Sollazzo

Mr Miliband visited Crouch End with Labour’s candidate for Hornsey and Wood Green, Catherine West, this morning for a campaign rally.

Addressing the assembled crowd outside Hornsey Town Hall, and then outside the ice cream shop Rileys  in Crouch end, he said the choice on May 7 was between “a recovery for working families across Britain”, or “more of the same from a government that believes in looking after the rich and powerful.”

“We are offering someone who will really be a brilliant MP, who is going to vote to abolish the bedroom, raise the minimum wage, ban the exploitation of zero hour contracts, invest in our NHS.

With the deadline looming for voter registration, he urged people to “make sure your voice is heard” in the election.

Catherine West stresses that inequality is on the increase in London and the main reason for that is low pay. I would like to address the scourge of low pay. Due to expensive rents and the high cost of living, so many families are under financial pressure, many facing large personal debts and struggling to keep their head above water. As Leader of Islington Council, I introduced the Living Wage instead of the minimum wage for staff. That change made a big difference to the lives of working people. My best day ever was when the cleaners in the Town Hall were paid the Living Wage and told me how they would not have to work three jobs any more.

He said: “I’m the son of immigrants, we benefit from being a diverse society, but I think people recognise there needs to be controls. There’s nothing progressive about employers who don’t pay the minimum wage, who undercut wages, who put 15 people from overseas in a room and use it to get round fair rules and minimum standards.