In a speech today Labour’s Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, welcomed two former Conservative Party activists to the Labour Party and said the project to change the Conservative Party had failed.

David Miliband said: “The Tory head and the Tory heart are at odds. The head tells them that the world has changed, that they have been rejected at three elections because they were seen as the nasty party. The heart tells them something different: that government is always the problem not the solution, that Europe is a threat not an opportunity, that the environment is an add-on at best and a distraction at worst.

“When you peel away the rhetoric of the Big Society, what do you find? The message is about self service not government at your service; on your bike not by your side . They say they’re empowering you, the truth is they are abandoning you. Why else would they block commitments to 1:1 tuition in schools; offer gambles not guarantees for those needing cancer treatment; retrenchment not reform when it comes to public services.

“Their manifesto says they oppose big government but that they support the NHS, the biggest employer in the world; they can believe either but not both.

“It’s not the Big Society but the Big Gamble.”

David Miliband was joined at his speech by two former Tory Party members, Anastasia Beaumont-Bott and David Heathcote.

David Heathcote withdrew from the Conservative Colne Valley campaign on the eve of the General Election announcement in response to Chris Grayling’s comments about B&Bs being able to turn away gay people. He subsequently resigned from the Conservative Party at the beginning of this week.

Anastasia helped set up LGBTory and was a member of the Conservative Party un til recently.

David Heathcote said: “I feel tremendously let down by the Conservative Party in relation to Chris Grayling’s recently revealed comments and the lack of any credible response from the party leadership.

“My own political beliefs mean far too much to me to have them sullied by the false values of the Conservative Party. Having removed my blue-tinted glasses and looked seriously at other parties, I am proud to say that I have joined the Labour Party.”

Anastasia Beaumont-Bott said: “The voice of the gay people of this country will not go away.

“Mr Cameron! Change we can believe in? We shouldn’t have to believe in your party changing, because actions should speak louder than words and we should just be able to look at your party and know whether you’ve changed or not.

“As a now ex-conservative politician, needless to say, I wasn’t convinced. And with your recent manifesto launch, I am still not convinced.

“There is not one mention of new gay rights in that document.

“Mr Cameron, you have not only lost my vote. You have lost my respect.

“And I know, I’m not the only one out there who is asking themselves “have the Conservatives really changed?”.

“The answer, is no.

“On 6 May, I will be voting for Labour. Because I shouldn’t have to believe in change, I should see change and I want to be part of achieving it.”