ED Miliband has stressed that Worcester voters have the key to Number 10 in their hands - urging the city to "change the course of Britain".

The Labour leader made a direct last-ditch plea to the city's voters during a dramatic visit today - saying it is vital the party wins in Worcester in order to form the next Government.

During an exclusive interview with your Worcester News, the man who could be Prime Minister by Friday admitted the city's householders have the rare chance to really make a difference on polling day.

Mr Miliband, who did a 'people's question time' event at Tudor Grange Academy with around 300 invited audience members, including many floating voters, said the General Election would come down to "a few dozen votes in a few dozen constituencies" like Worcester.

This newspaper was given exclusive access with Mr Miliband after his Q&A, travelling face-to-face with him on his Labour 'battle bus' between the city and Dudley, in the Black Country for a sit-down one-on-one interview.

He said: "In Worcester it could come down to a few hundred votes, so I'd say to the people here, 'you can make the difference'.

"I'd say to all those thinking about what to do this Thursday, get out and vote for us because Britain needs you.

"We need them and I need them, we know how tight this contest is, Worcester people have the chance to change things."

Mr Miliband also told your Worcester News he'd like to see tuition fees, which he has pledged to cut from £9,000 to £6,000, "reduced even further" but insisted the current promise is in place because it is affordable immediately.

"I would like us to go further but we've got to be realistic about what we can offer now because I will not go back on it," he said.

He also said city people would benefit from "the bedroom tax being scrapped straightaway", and insisted Worcestershire's hospitals would get "a whole new approach to end the NHS crisis" with 8,000 more doctors and 20,000 more nurses being recruited nationally.

He refused to talk about Coalition deals with other parties, insisting a Labour majority was achievable if voters in Worcester and other marginals back him.

"I'll say this to them - I'm not a man who will break all my promises by 2pm on Friday, May 8th," he said.

“I will be a Prime Minister who sticks to my promises.”

At the moment the Worcester seat is held by Conservative Robin Walker, who holds a 2,982 majority over Labour, which is standing Councillor Joy Squires against him.

It is a crucial seat for both the Conservatives and Labour, especially as the polls continue to show deadlock between the main two parties.

Since 1974 the party in control of the Worcester seat has always ended up forming the Government of the day.

Mr Miliband said: "Politics and change doesn't come from politicians, it comes from the people and we know how important Worcester is.

"Joy has been a brilliant candidate for us, this election could come down to a few dozen votes in a few dozen constituencies in places like this.

"I need a Labour MP here to have a Labour Government, I need it to happen."

ED TAKES A SWIPE AT NICK CLEGG FOR ‘BROKEN PROMISES’ IN WORCESTER Q&A

LABOUR leader Ed Miliband survived a testing public Q&A today - appearing to pitch for the votes of young people.

An audience of around 300, many of them floating voters known to the party, attended a 'People's Question Time event' at Tudor Grange Academy.

During the hour-long session he was quizzed on issues like tuition fees, zero hours contracts, the NHS, mental health, the energy market, Trident and even congestion in Worcester.

He said he'd like to make youth services statutory, telling the audience it was "tragic" so many councils had cut facilities for them, and took a swipe at Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg over his broken tuition fees promise.

He also told the audience schools should take greater responsibility for preparing young people for the world, and pointed to a manifesto pledge to build 200,000 new homes a year.

"I'm here with a simple message, to remind you what the stakes are," he said.

"Do you carry on with the idea of one set of rules for one lot of people, with tax cuts for the wealthy, and another set of rules for the rest.

"I believe Britain can do better than this, I believe Britain must do better than this, a Labour Government would do better than this."

He said Mr Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, should have "faced consequences" for backtracking on tuition fee rises.

"When people's trust is let down, there should be consequences for that, and they're still at it today," he said.

"Nick Clegg was asked five times this morning about whether he'd rule out a rise in tuition fees and five times, he refused to answer.

"Tuition fees are on the ballot box this Thursday, make no mistake about that, because if the Tories and Lib Dems got in again they would raise tuition fees again and betray young people."

On his pledge to cut fees from £9,000 to £6,000, he said he'd like to "cut it to less", adding: "The reason why we've said £6,000 is because it's something I know we can deliver right now."

During a question on zero hours contracts, he said Labour would make sure people on them were offered a proper contract after 12 weeks, calling it "a massive issue".

"You will have to make a judgement about this, the problem with the Coalition is that they don't seem to care about the quality of jobs," he said.

"When David Cameron was asked about this he said 'it's what people want' but I don't think it's what people want.

"He won't do anything about it, he'd let it go on for month after month, year after year."

After a question on apprenticeships, to loud applause from the audience, he said he was worried about lots of jobs being "re-badged", insisting he would not get into "a numbers game" on setting targets.

On education, he told the crowd the Conservatives were planning cuts, referencing Mr Cameron's offer to protect the school's offer in pure cash terms, and said he found that wrong.

"We'd go further than that (by allowing it to keep up with inflation) but it's not just about passing exams, in my view we need to help schools prepare young people for life," he said.

There were some humorous exchanges with the audience, including one question from a potential Green Party voter, who he tried to convince to back Labour, and one questioner who said "I don't need a microphone" because his voice was so loud, to which Mr Miliband replied: "I feared that was the case".

He also defended the H2S fast rail link, saying it was "peculiarly British" that the nation's trains network is so aged, and reiterated his pledge to extend the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds by 2016.