Labour leader Ed Miliband pledged yesterday to stop desperate Tories shifting attention away from their cost of living crisis in the new year.

Speaking from his home in a recorded video message, Mr Miliband prepared voters for Tory tricks to divert their attention from the crisis over the next 12 months.

But he promised to stay "relentlessly focused" on making life better for Britain's families and make "specific promises" to prove it.

He said: "We are in the midst of the biggest cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

"Whether it's people being unable to afford the weekly shop or worried about the gas and electric bill - or saying: 'I have always thought of myself as reasonably well off but I'm really having trouble making ends meet'."

"The Tories want to change the conversation from the cost of living crisis. They will talk about anything else."

In contrast with Tory Prime Minister David Cameron, Mr Miliband said he will be thinking about "how I can make your life better" every morning.

And he insisted Labour's alternative programme for government was fully funded and costed.

"People do not want the Earth," he said.

"They would much prefer some very specific promises, specific things about what a government will do - whether it's freezing energy bills, taking action on payday lenders, or tackling issues around childcare which lots of working parents face.

"All of this is adding up to a programme for how we can change things. It's clearly costed, it's credible and it's real."

Mr Miliband also called on Scots to vote No in next year's independence referendum.