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Ed Miliband has called on the coalition to force energy companies to put elderly customers on their cheapest tariffs in his latest salvo against “vested interests” in the corporate world.

The Labour leader said the policy should apply to all over-75s, many of whom at present fail to shop around or do not have internet access to do so. If companies refused to do this voluntarily the government should compel them by law, he said.

The move comes ahead of a “consumer-focused” campaign by Mr Miliband in which he will criticise credit card providers, loan sharks and low-cost airlines for their “unfair” practices.

The Labour leadership is determined to flesh out its theme of “responsible capitalism” after criticism that the concept was too woolly and ill-defined.

There are 400 different tariffs for fuel, a situation which is bewildering to many pensioners. Mr Miliband said that 80 per cent of consumers were estimated to be paying over the odds.

“The plan I’m setting out today will cut the gas and electricity bills of up to 4m elderly pensioners, not through spending more money but by getting our energy firms to show greater responsibility to their most vulnerable customers,” he said.

Mr Miliband admitted that he had not done anything similar when he was energy secretary – only 18 months ago – but said that “the world has changed” and required a new approach to dominant companies.

The move follows the Labour leader’s promise in the autumn to limit the power of Britain’s “big six” energy companies by stopping them from producing gas and electricity and selling it themselves. Instead, all their energy would go into a central pool, allowing supermarkets and others to enter the supply market.

Mr Miliband was speaking at an event on London’s South Bank designed to revive his leadership amid sniping from internal and external critics who have focused on his underwhelming showing in opinion polls.

Earlier he endured an awkward interview on the BBC Today programme where presenter John Humphrys tried to compare him to Robin Cook – who believed he had been “too ugly” to be party leader.

In his speech later in the morning the Labour leader admitted that the party would not be able to make generous spending promises if it won the 2015 general election.

Meanwhile Mr Miliband accused David Cameron of not going far enough to curb executive pay, suggesting that the prime minister should take up his proposal for employee representatives on every remuneration committee.

Labour will soon unveil its review of short-termism in British corporate life, he revealed, examining issues such as quarterly reporting. Some MPs are concerned that the coalition appears to have wrested the corporate governance agenda away from Labour in recent weeks.

Mr Miliband hailed a campaign for a “living wage” – higher than the minimum wage – but admitted he could not promise to legislate for this because of the financial implications.