THE “benefits cap” could be harsher in Yorkshire than in the South, under plans put forward by Labour in today’s manifesto.

Ed Miliband’s party announced it would ask social security experts to examine whether the cap - currently £26,000 across the country - “should be lower in some areas”.

Previously, Labour has hinted the cap could be lowered in areas with cheaper housing costs, but this is the first time the policy has appeared in black and white.

Other fresh policies unveiled by Mr Miliband in Manchester, included:

  • Freezing rail fares for one year - funded by shelving two road upgrades in Sussex and Somerset - and a new legal right to the cheapest ticket.
     
  • A legal right to childcare in breakfast or after-school clubs from 8am-6pm - only available in 17 council areas, Labour said, after Coalition cuts.
     
  • Raising the minimum wage to more than £8 by October 2019 - one year earlier than previously stated.
     
  • Inflation-linked increases to tax credits - after Coalition cuts which, Labour claimed, have left working families £1,100 a year worse off, on average.

Speaking in Manchester, Mr Miliband sought to tackle doubts about his leadership mettle by arguing he had “been tested” and was now ready.

He said: “I am ready, ready to put an end to the tired old idea that as long as we look after the rich and powerful we will all be okay.

“Ready to put into practice the truth that it is only when working people succeed, that Britain succeeds.”

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The benefit cap has imposed a £500 weekly limit on the total that can be claimed by any family, equivalent to the average wage earned by working households after tax.

But because the biggest welfare handout is housing benefit - and because rents are far lower in the North - the majority of affected households are in London.

Only 498 households in Bradford have had their benefits capped, just a fraction of more than 55,000 nationwide.

Now Labour’s manifesto reads: “We will keep the household benefit cap and ask the Social Security Advisory Committee to examine if it should be lower in some areas.”

Meanwhile, the Conservatives have pledged that, if they win the general election, the annual cap will be lowered to £23,000, across the country.

Today, Mr Miliband said Labour was making no unfunded promises, in contrast with the Tories who were “party of sums that do not add up and commitments that cannot be kept”.

But Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said Labour was still promising “more borrowing, more debt and higher taxes”.

He added: "Britain doesn’t want to go back to the chaos of the past."