Labour have launched its campaign for local council elections in England, saying the party will be the "first line of defence" against spending cuts.
Ed Miliband called on the public to express their opposition to the coalition government's planned spending cuts by treating the forthcoming polls "as if they were the general election".
He argued that cuts to local authority budgets will hit the worst-off areas the hardest, pledging that his party will stand up for those affected.
The party leader said: "This is a very important moment for our country because these elections offer the first nationwide test of the direction in which this government is taking the country.
"This election is about cuts, but it's about something deeper than cuts - it's about the values that we have as a society and it's about what we want for our country.
"Let's fight these elections as if they were a general election because they have that much importance to the future of our country."
Miliband began the campaign for the council elections, which take place on May 5, with a speech and question-and-answer session at a school in Birmingham.
Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, the Labour leader said the party's policy on council-tax capping and the decisions they make was under review.
He said he was "proud" of Labour councils' reaction to the cuts and their record on making efficiency savings in difficult circumstances.
Miliband rejected claims from the coalition that some councils were deliberately cutting services to embarrass the government.
"It's nonsense for the prime minister to somehow say that Labour councils are making politically-motivated cuts to services," he said.
"They are making efficiency savings and they are doing their very best to protect services that people really value and contribute to social justice in this country.
"Good Labour councils are saying: look, we've got these difficult decisions, let's go out and talk to people about what they want to see'."
The Labour leader defended his decision to compare those participating in the anti-cuts demonstration on Saturday to those campaigning against apartheid or for civil rights in the US.
He said the march on Saturday had been about politics being "practiced by people making their voice heard in a peaceful way".
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