ED MILIBAND yesterday came under pressure to ditch vague policy positions and make a “clear break with the Blair years” on issues including tuition fees, public ownership and Palestine.

Addressing an audience in Salford, Mr Miliband reiterated pledges to raise the minimum wage to £8 and end the hated bedroom tax.

But he was asked by a Afghan refugee in the audience how Labour would “sort out the mess” in the Middle East and whether he would follow Sweden’s lead in recognising Palestine.

Mr Miliband responded by pointing to Labour’s support for upgrading Palestine’s status at the UN and the parliamentary party’s votes in favour of statehood in a non-binding Commons debate. But he stopped short of pledging that the British government would officially recognise the state under his leadership.

And responding to a journalist’s question about the party’s policy on tuition fees, Mr Miliband refused to commit to a particular approach — despite having announced in 2011 that a Labour government would reduce fees by a third to £6,000 a year.

“We need to make sure it’s a costed and credible plan. We’re not going to make the Nick Clegg mistake,” he said.

But London Young Labour executive committee member Ollie Hill called for Labour to support free education.

“Labour needs to send a strong signal to the parents, students and young people betrayed by Nick Clegg five years ago that we offer a real alternative,” he said.

“Promising to abolish fees would be a shot in the arm for activists countering the Green Party and apathy, as well as demonstrating a clear break with the Blair years.”

The calls came as the Campaign for Public Ownership (CPO) launched a new initiative to push the nationalisation of public utilities to the top of the political agenda — putting candidates “on the spot” over the issue.

CPO director Neil Clark told the Star that support for public ownership could give Mr Miliband’s party a major poll boost.

“It’s inexplicable that Labour is so cautious on this issue, given that opinion polls show that the public overwhelmingly supports public ownership,” he said.

“We believe that public ownership could be the issue that decides the election.”