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It came after Ed Balls, the shadow Chancellor, said he was prepared to do "whatever it takes" to save the NHS, raising the prospect of using tax hikes to fund the health service.

Mr Miliband is also expected to say he will use billions raised from re-introducing the 50p top rate of income tax to help reduce waiting times and increase access to GPs.

In his keynote address at the Labour Party conference, Mr Balls said: "Thousands of people working in our NHS, millions more who depend upon it, worried about rising waiting times and creeping privatisation. I love the NHS - and I will do whatever it takes to save it."