Mr Balls goes on to attack the government's record and gets a big cheer after saying Labour will not fund new free schools in areas where there is no shortage of school places. He also promises to repeal legislation on the NHS, to stop the "increasing privatisation" of the NHS and to scrap the "bedroom tax" - the housing benefit changes the government calls the "spare room subsidy".

Guido Fawkes

tweets:, external So far @edballsmp has announced plans to deal with 0.67% of the deficit. Looking for another announcement on the remaining 99.33% later...

Ed Balls: "Working people have had to balance their own books. And they are clear that the government needs to balance its books too. So Labour will balance the books in the next parliament. These will be our tough fiscal rules. We will get the current budget into surplus and the national debt falling as soon as possible in the next parliament."

It was also a "mistake" that the banks were not regulated in a tougher way, Mr Balls continues, and adds: "We should apologise for it. And I do."

Mr Balls hails the party's record on the national minimum wage, free nursery places and the NHS - but he says there should have been tougher rules on immigration from eastern Europe. "It was a mistake not to have transitional controls in 2004. We must change the rules in the future," he says, proposing longer transitional controls for new countries and eligibility restrictions on benefits.

Liberal Democrats

tweet:, external Nick Clegg: We must deliver devolution that has been promised to Scotland. No ifs, no buts.

Politics Home

tweets:, external Balls praises Miliband for "modernising our relationship with the trade unions" and "standing up for the victims of phone-hacking" #Lab14

Ed Balls says that while the Tories "are deeply unpopular" and the country is "crying out for change", there is still "more to do" to show Labour can deliver that change. This includes being honest about what the previous Labour administration got right, but also where it went wrong.

Political Editor of The Sun, Tom Newton Dunn

tweets:, external Ed Balls speech joke klaxon: "Perhaps today the less said about elbows, the better". #Lab14

Mr Balls heaps praise on Labour leader Ed Miliband who he says has led the party with "courage, strength, principle and vision and he will do the same for our country". He aims fire at David Cameron and George Osborne, accusing the Conservative Party of being "out of touch". Mr Balls claims Mr Cameron's party no longer believes in its leader.

Conservative MP David Gauke

tweets: , externalBalls complains about public sector pay freeze - which he supports.

Mr Balls says families, pensioners, workers and NHS staff and patients are "relying" on Labour to make things better, and urges conference to "not let them down".

Huffington Post UK's political director, Mehdi Hasan

tweets:, external Last conference speech till the election. Surely @edballsmp has a rabbit in the hat beyond pre-briefed child benefit/ministerial pay stuff?

The shadow chancellor acknowledges the need for UK-wide constitutional reform in wake of the referendum, but insists the process should start from the people, not politicians.

Labour MP Iain Wright

tweets:, external Media scrum for Ed Balls' speech at #Lab14 pic.twitter.com/TlHtIYokGo

On the Scottish referendum - which continues to dominate the headlines - Ed Balls pays tribute to every Labour member involved in the campaign for a No vote. His comments are greeted by applause.

Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, tells conference that while the economy is growing again most working people are "still not seeing any benefit" from the recovery. The country is crying out for change, he says, and adds that Labour offers a "better way forward": an economy for the many, not the few.

Mrs J Pike, Bath

Capping child benefit penalises stay-at-home-Mums, of which I am one. My child is 7 and I want to be able to spend time with her while she is young. I tried working (as a legal secretary) part-time, but was constantly exhausted (I am 50!) Child benefit is most valuable to me, especially when the money which my husband earns has run out at the end of the month. I certainly won't be voting Labour…ever!

Mr Balls stresses that Scotland did not vote for the status quo, but for greater devolution, and stresses "it is our duty to deliver on that promise - and for Wales and for the cities and regions of England too".