Ed Balls has christened the prime minister and chancellor "Butch Cameron and the flat-line kid" as he sharply criticised the two men for how they treated women and handled the economy.
In his speech to the Labour Party conference in Manchester on Monday, the shadow chancellor said in Cameron'a cabinet "the women get the sack and only the chaps get the knighthoods".
"What does it take to get sacked" he asked referencing Andrew Mitchell's run-in with Downing Street police. "Swear at a police officer and call him a ‘pleb’? And you’re defended to the hilt."
Attacking former culture secretary, now health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, he said: "Get caught red-handed texting market sensitive information to News International? You get promoted.
And turning to George Osborne, he told Labour activists: "Flat-line the economy and deliver the most unfair and shambolic Budget in living memory? And you stay in post – more than that, you’re allowed to do it part-time."
Balls said while it seemed impossible for a male cabinet minister to lose their jobs, Cameron was not so lenient with women.
"What kind of prime minister thinks it’s fair to sack a 54 year old woman from his Cabinet because she’s 'too old' - and then give the job to a 56 year old man instead?
"Let me tell you: a prime minister who only appoints five women in the first place, sacks three of them, demotes the other two - and then attacks the Labour leadership for not being 'butch' enough.
"Butch? Butch? Whatever did he mean? And if David Cameron is butch, where does that leave George Osborne?
Balls added: "Perhaps this is why George Osborne will never be sacked. A prime minister and a chancellor destined to go down fighting together. And this time, let’s see them riding off into the sun-set. Butch Cameron and the flat-line kid."
By contrast Balls said he was "proud" to serve in ed Miliband's shadow cabinet which wasmore than 40% women.