Labour leader Ed Miliband has delivered a blunt message to striking teachers and council workers: "You've made a mistake."

Addressing the Local Government Association conference at the ICC in Birmingham, Mr Miliband said: "I understand the anger of workers who feel they are being singled out by a provocative and reckless government.

"But I also believe this strike is wrong. Negotiations are on-going and it was a mistake to go on strike."

He was speaking as thousands of schools across the country were forced to close as teachers stayed at home.

Many council buildings including libraries were also closed.

Mr Miliband said the strike was a sign of failure by both sides and could have been avoided if Ministers had been willing to engage in meaningful discussions.

The Government's attitude had been "arrogant and high-handed". He hit out at spending cuts imposed on local councils and said the Government's attempt to pass responsibility for running services on to the voluntary sector would not work.

"The Big Society idea that volunteers will fill the void left by these cuts is being exposed as fantasy."

However, Mr Miliband declined to say where a Labour government would find the cuts. No opposition party published budgets in advance of taking power, he said.

Mr Miliband said he feared that for the first time, the next generation of Britons would be poorer than the last with young adults unable to afford to buy a house and the "squeezed middle" parents having to divide their time between supporting their children and providing care for their elderly parents.