The mayor of New York has given the Labour leadership a ringing endorsement for the general election.
Bill de Blasio, the first Democrat mayor of America’s biggest city since 1993, addressed delegates at the Labour conference in Manchester.
His backing offered a welcome boost to party leader Ed Miliband, amid criticism that his keynote speech on Tuesday failed to mention the country’s deficit.
Mr de Blasio said: “Your agenda is a blueprint of what a fairer, more prosperous, stronger United Kingdom will look like.
“That is not only why you must win, it is why you will win.
“The upcoming election represents a choice for the people of your country: build a United Kingdom that rewards hard work and ensures the next generation does better, or continue down a path of growing inequality and rising cost of living.
“To me, that choice is very clear, as I know it is to the people in this room, and as I know it will become to everyday people across this country.”
