Protesters dressed in the distinctive orange robes and black hoods of Guantanamo Bay prisoners may have been lined up to confront David Miliband at the entrance, but the foreign secretary looked unruffled as he strode past them towards an expectant crowd in St Paul's Church.

The group, pressing for the release of Londoner Shaker Aamer from the American prison, were among campaigners of all political persuasions who were encouraged to fire challenging questions at the minister during Friday evening's meeting.

In contrast to a recent performance by Tory leader David Cameron at the same venue, there was no vetting process for the audience at the event, put together to support Labour's election campaign in a divided borough in which every vote counts.

Shepherd's Bush MP Andy Slaughter is fighting a bitter contest against Conservative hopeful Shaun Bailey for the new Hammersmith seat, and the Labour group at Hammersmith and Fulham Council needs all the help it can get.

Speaking to the Chronicle on the way to the event, Mr Miliband said he believes the way to win over local voters is to dispel the 'broken Britain' mantra adopted by the Tories.

"We have to fight the myth that Britain has got worse in the last ten years, when in fact it's got better, the myth that there aren't big ideas, and the myth that the Tories have changed," said the foreign secretary.

"Let's not fall for the lie that the country has gone backwards in the last 13 years – we're a richer country and a fairer country, and in some ways a more confident country.

"We have to think very, very hard about how we move forward. We have to protect the things that we've improved and we have to correct the things that haven't been got right."

In Hammersmith and Fulham, repeated council tax cuts by the Conservative authority have proved popular with many voters – but according to Labour, the cuts have come at the expense of services used by some of society's most vulnerable.

Giving his view of the council's approach, Mr Miliband said: "The council has made promises that it hasn't kept, and the people who bear the brunt of those broken promises are the people who need meals on wheels, and who pay £12.40 an hour for elderly home care."

Before the meeting, the minister had been given a tour of the nearby Queen Caroline Estate, one of several which the authority has earmarked for redevelopment.

Residents recounted how council leader Stephen Greehalgh had labelled estates as 'ghettoes' and 'barracks for the poor', and asked Mr Miliband how his government could help protect them.

One said: "Obviously we can't afford to vote Conservative because otherwise we're going to lose it all. Can the Labour Party guarantee the work is going to be done?

"Things are going to be pulled down – we're not green – but people want the chance to come back with an affordable rent."

On the subject of the council leader's description of estates, Mr Miliband said: "It's a matter of respect. Anyone who starts talking about an estate like this as a 'ghetto' is failing the respect test."

Tenants living in council estates should be as respected as those in the private rented sector, said Mr Miliband, adding that 'for some people at some points in their lives,' social rented housing is often 'the right option'.

"Many people up and down the country will know that for their parents and their grandparents, it was a lifeline," he said.

He said a move by people living on the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates to wrest control of the land away from the council could pave the way for similar actions by residents elsewhere.

"It's about putting the law in the hands of local people so they don't get bulldozed by local government or central government," said Mr Miliband. "That's important."

Addressing the crowd in the church, Mr Slaughter gave his own views on the estate plans.

He said: "It's a mixed tenure estate with people who live well together as a community. I absolutely refute the allegation that we live in a broken society here in Hammersmith. I don't want Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush to be turned into some kind of template with Barratt homes stretching into the horizon."

For more on the meeting see this week's free Chronicle. Were you there? Leave your comments below.