Ed Miliband has attempted to convince voters the party has learnt from its past mistakes on immigration by unveiling tough new measures to tackle the issue.

Mr Miliband admitted Labour had made errors in 2004 under Tony Blair that left "working people" facing "dramatic changes in their communities that were not planned or properly prepared for."

Unveiling a five-point policy, the Labour leader said he would ensure that all NHS workers would be "required to speak English to a sufficient standards so they can care effectively for patients".

He said a Labour government would legislate to give healthcare regulators the power to enforce the rule.

Mr Miliband spoke about how his parents had fled the Nazi regime and come to Britain and that had made him believe in a "shared society".

He said this could only be achieved if people "speak the same language".

The Labour leader said: "And it is why I believe in a simple principle: Everyone in Britain should know how to speak English.

"Sometimes, we've been too timid about this. But it is something we should expect from everyone who comes here.

"And it is especially important that people who work in public services in public facing roles should be required to speak English.

"And nowhere is that more true than in our NHS."

Apologising for the Labour government's track record he said they should have made sure there were "maximum transitional controls" when new countries joined the European Union.

Speaking at an event in Wirral, Mr Miliband said: "I've been very clear about the mistakes the last Labour government made."
And he said: "Let me be clear. It is not prejudiced to be concerned about immigration."

Mr Miliband pledged a new system of controls including a new system to count people in and out of the country, 1,000 new border staff and tougher rules on claiming benefits.

He also promised to end illegal and abusive practices which see migrants living and working in appalling conditions for minimal pay.

He said a Labour government would set up a 100-strong police and Home Office enforcement unit to increase prosecutions and fines against bad employers who are undermining the minimum wage and encouraging low skilled migration.

And he said there would be a cap on immigrants coming to the UK from outside the EU.

Mr Miliband also attacked David Cameron's vow to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands saying the "Conservatives' target is in tatters".

Farage on immigration policy

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said Labour's open door policy on immigration that had caused the problem but added Mr Miliband was right that some people who came to the UK were exploited.

He said: "There's no doubt that there are problems out there but it is not the main issue. The main issue is we have allowed too many people to come into Britain, which is pushing down people's wages."

In January Mr Farage told Sky News that UKIP would not allow people who could not speak proper English to work in the NHS.

Last year's local and European elections showed that UKIP was a threat to Labour in some areas in the North.

Tory Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said: "Nothing Ed Miliband is proposing today would help control immigration.

"Labour sent out 'search parties for people' and under them net migration increased more than five-fold."

He said the Conservative government "would seek changes to the operation of European free movement rules as a key part of our plan to renegotiate Britain's relationship with the EU."

Mr Brokenshire added: "But a vote for Ed Miliband would risk all of that with a Labour-SNP stitch up."

Mr Miliband's announcement comes after Chief whip Michael Gove appeared to rule out any kind of commons alliance with UKIP, who has suggested that a deal would be possible if the Tories agreed to hold an immediate referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union.

Mr Gove told the Daily Telegraph: "It's very nice of [Nigel Farage to say he would do a deal].

"I don't want to say anything disobliging about Nigel Farage or about people in UKIP, but I've got no appetite, interest or inclination towards doing a deal with anyone."

With 19 days to go until the General Election, the latest poll by YouGov for the Sun has Labour and the Conservatives tied on 34%.

Mr Cameron is on the campaign trail today and is promising to make a leading pensions campaigner a minister if Conservatives are re-elected.

Ros Altmann will be placed at the "heart of government" with responsibility for financial education and consumer protection, he has said. She will also be made a Tory peer in the House of Lords.

The Lib Dems, meanwhile, are expected to pledge to double the number of employers offering apprenticeships, while Mr Farage is to visit his target constituency of South Thanet.