Ed Miliband is to accuse George Osborne of "letting down British business" days after the chancellor accused the Labour party of pushing an "anti-business" culture in the UK.

In a lecture at Sheffield University's new Political Economy Research Institute Miliband is expected to label the chancellor the "last bastion of an old mindset" and accuse him and the prime minister of "presiding over a failed economy."

The speech comes two days after Osborne said it was important to "stop" those "trying to create an anti-business culture in Britain."

He defended "rewards for success" during a speech to the Federation of Small Businesses.

But on Thursday evening, Miliband is expected to say Osborne is "letting down British business and letting down British families."

“He says that action to tackle big bonuses is ‘anti-business’. It is not. It is pro-business to demand responsibility at the top and an end to the something-for-nothing culture which has damaged our economy in the financial crisis at every level, wrecked businesses and left everyone else squeezed.

“George Osborne has failed to give business the certainty it needs by bringing in a clear set of rules for an economy in which responsibility is hard wired in from the benefits office to the boardroom," the Labour leader will say.

Alex Smith, co-founder of Labour business told Huff Post UK Miliband was "right" to say the government was letting business down.

"Polls have shown that there is a real opportunity for Labour to become the party of enterprise because entrepreneurs currently feel let down. Many can't get credit to grow their businesses and others are struggling to survive. Meanwhile some of the bigger, established firms have reserves that enable them to succeed even during these difficult times.

"People see the difference between those big firms, particularly in banking, which have damaged our economy and society by risking security and chasing profit at any cost, and the smaller and medium-sized firms that employ 14 million people in the UK and that are so important to our communities. That's the space Ed Miliband and Labour need to play in."