Labour leader Ed Miliband was in Southampton today to campaign on crime, jobs and living standards as city councillors ramp up their bid for power.

Mr Miliband who last visited Southampton in February, hosted a question and answer session with residents in Thornhill after this week placing the issues at the centre of Labour’s local election campaign.

A succession of Labour front bench politicians have been campaigning in Southampton in recent weeks, including shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint.

Labour is attempting to wrest control of the city council from the Conservatives. Unions have been supporting Labour’s campaign in the city.

Speaking at the new Eastpoint Centre Mr Miliband said the country needed to know there was shared sacrifice and reward.

Mr Miliband claimed last week's handling of the threat of a strike by tanker drivers showed the Government was failing to live by its mantra of ''we are all in it together''.

During a question and answer session in Southampton with party members and the heads of local groups, Mr Miliband was given a largely easy ride as he was asked about the importance of restorative justice, youth services, the problem of anti-social behaviour, crime and the future of the NHS.

He talked of his fears about NHS reform and the unfairness of the Budget, which he said had ''obscured the economic failure'' of the Government.

He said that President Barack Obama's stimulus package was delivering growth in the US, while Britain struggled.

There was an admission that the previous Labour government had set too many targets in education.

He also said that politicians must keep their promises and added that it was better to promise less and deliver more than the other way around.

The Labour leader has been seeking to lift the spirits of party activists following their shock defeat in the Bradford West by-election at the hands of George Galloway.

He said yesterday that Labour will win back the support of lost voters by showing how the party can ''make a difference''.

Mr Miliband said Labour would ''learn the lessons of Bradford'' and focus on local issues.