ED MILIBAND said yesterday he was bound to lose the political debate if it was based on image and soundbites — and urged voters to judge him on policy instead.

In a speech to journalists and the party faithful, the Labour leader said he was “not from central casting” but had “decency and empathy” and “big ideas to change things.”

And he defended Labour’s trade union links, saying they offered a means to reconnect politics with ordinary people. 

“It’s absolutely essential that we have a politics rooted in the workplace,” he told the audience at the Royal Institute of British Architects in Marylebone, central London.

“I’m proud of our links with the trade unions.”

Mr Miliband blasted Britain’s political culture for becoming overly focused on image and soundbites.

He joked about being compared to stop-motion comedy character Wallace and admitted a photo-op eating a bacon sandwich had been a mistake. 

And he admitted he had been unwise to pose with a copy of the Sun.

“I know, especially for people on Merseyside, me holding up a copy of the Sun was one of those days,” he said.

The opposition leader said politicians should not forget the bread and butter issues that mattered to voters.

“I know that few people will be talking about ‘responsible capitalism’ on the doorstep,” he said.

But he maintained it was a valuable aspiration, saying it had not resonated simply because “it doesn’t make a great soundbite.”

A Labour activist from Doncaster, who appeared frustrated by the policy-lite nature of the speech, asked what “big ideas” Mr Miliband had in mind. 

He identified debates around rising inequality and the failure of the economic recovery to reach ordinary workers.

Noting his successes in challenging government policy on News International and energy bills, he said by “thinking deeply” a Labour government would enact long-term changes to make Britain work better for working people.

But he said he could not do so overnight — saying it might take 10 years or more to shift the balance of power away from elites.