MP for Poplar & Limehouse Jim Fitzpatrick says the government is out of touch

The forthcoming election will be about fairness, running the economy and reducing the deficit fairly.

Ed Miliband and Ed Balls have been spelling out our plans to put working people first.

We will reward hard work with measures such as an £8 minimum wage, end zero hour contracts, support wealth-creating small businesses and jobs of the future in green industries, while keeping Britain in Europe.

Our party will provide opportunities for our children with measures through training, vocational education and apprenticeships.

We aim to combat Tory welfare waste with measures such as repealing the Bedroom Tax, which has hit 1,203 people in Poplar and Limehouse.

We plan to fund local authorities to help people move to suitable accommodation and use the funding set aside by the government through Discretionary Housing payments.

Protecting our vital public services like the NHS with measures such as a guaranteed GP appointment within 48 hours, a one week wait for cancer tests, and a £2.5 billion Time to Care fund to support more midwives, care workers, doctors and nurses, is also planned. We will balance the books as soon as possible in the next parliament.

In Poplar and Limehouse the above will have a huge impact as they will across the country. But further than that, we will also freeze energy prices until 2017, move on rent controls to prevent annual hikes for people renting their homes, and hit bank bonuses to pay for jobs. It is clear the current coalition government is out of touch. More from Jim Fitzpatrick