The backdrop for Ed Miliband was not good.

On Monday Ed Balls went out of his way to pledge no increase in child benefit and a continuation of a lot of the Tory austerity — but an increase in the minimum wage to help alleviate it all.

Many in Manchester were more than puzzled by his approach.

Most were hostile and those with long memories were reminded of Thatcher’s child benefit freeze.

International affairs also cast a shadow over conference.

News of the US bombing of Syria in pursuit of Isis had broken and, with a recall of Parliament due, Miliband opened his speech with an interesting caveat of UN approval of any action.

This looked like the price of support to David Cameron for any bombing by British forces.

But beyond a welcome declaration of support for human rights around the world and a mention of the heroism of those who fought for the International Brigades in Spain, there was little on the rest of the world.

This is strange as on Monday in the “Britain in the World” debate Vernon Coaker MP extolled the armed forces and a global role for Britain.

In a later seminar he specifically endorsed a defence review, yet at the same time supported Trident replacement with a new generation of weapons of mass destruction.

Right at the end of his speech Miliband pledged a priority of a two-state solution in the Middle East.

He cleverly built on the No vote in Scotland by using it to isolate the Tory demand for an English Parliament and talked about regional devolution in England and an almost federal constitution, along with votes for 16-year-olds and reform of the House of Lords.

The latter has been promised by every Labour leader and is still a far from complete process.

At lunchtime yesterday the Public and Commercial Services Union held an excellent fringe event at which radical tax expert Richard Murphy outlined the real tax gap of £119.4 billion and then deftly pointed out that Balls’s freezing of child benefit would save only £0.4bn but cause a lot of misery.

By contrast, Miliband pledged £2.5bn more on health and care. But while this is welcome he neglected to mention the systematic corporate tax avoidance and evasion of much of very big business.

He did pledge to halve the number of low paid — but I say why not eliminate?

And he did pledge banking reform predicated on breaking up and creating competition among banks — but I say why not use the public ownership powers we already have?

He also made a very welcome commitment on the green economy before pointing out that Cameron once hugged a husky and changed the Tory logo to a tree, before trying to sell the Forestry Commission.

Miliband is obviously aware of youth disengagement from politics — aside from in Scotland where young people became energised by the independence debate — and he pledged that by 2025 there would be as many apprenticeships as university places.

Again this was welcome, but without a commitment on university fees or financial support, students might be left with no real choice.

Housing is obviously a huge issue with home ownership rapidly declining. Indeed in many areas private renting is overtaking ownership and council renting as the only option available.

A large proportion of the of 200,000 new houses Miliband pledged should be for council renting and the private rental sector should be subject to rent control.

Labour’s commitment to make the NHS the centrepiece of the election was well trailed.
The principle of healthcare as a right is the most socialist ideal in Britain and the NHS is by far the most popular public service.

With this emphasis and increased funding, Miliband is dead right.

Also the apparent proposal due today that a Labour government would integrate health and community services as well as repealing the Health and Social Care Act are very welcome.

Andy Burnham was, unusually, heckled at a fringe event when he said the public would be the preferred provider rather than the sole provider of services.

But unless the repeal of the hated legislation is accompanied by a reassertion of public provision whatever the EU or even TTIP says, the NHS will always be a potential victim in the predatory eyes of private health companies.

Miliband concluded with yet another use of his new buzzword of “together” and asserted that government must confront the powerful vested interests that dominate life.

The proposals are all good, but there has to be a fundamental change in the whole economic approach including public ownership of public services to ensure delivery of the fairer and more equal society that Miliband was outlining in his speech.

The TUC demo on October 18 is less than a month away. Tens of thousands will march in London to try to end austerity — Labour needs to be in tune with them.

Jeremy Corbyn is Labour MP for Islington North.