Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls arrived in Ammanford on Wednesday with a vow to improve people’s lives by Christmas should Labour win a majority in next month’s general election.

Mr Balls arrived in the constituency to show support for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr candidate Calum Higgins as part of a whistle-stop tour of south-west Wales before heading to Cardiff for a stint on the drums with Undertones front-man Feargal Sharkey for a performance of the band’s rock anthem Teenage Kicks.

Mr Balls used the trip west to lay down the back-beat of Labour’s “fairer society” election mantra which began with a headline-grabbing declaration that his party would abolish “non-domicile tax status” if given power on May 7.

Mr Balls also promised a £400 per year tax-break for small businesses, claiming a reduction for all businesses with a rateable value of less than £50,000 would benefit every small company in the region.

“We need to help small businesses,” he told the Guardian.

“Ammanford is just like at my constituency in Morley in Yorkshire and what is important in a town like this is to support small business.

“These have been difficult times for the High Street and a direct tax cut for small businesses would have a real impact.

“There are 1.5million properties in the UK of rateable value of less than £50,000 so this would help to boost town centres across England and Wales.

“It is what business owners want to regenerate the High Street.”

In additional to the reduction in business rates, Mr Balls said a Labour government would increase the minimum wage, repeat the bankers’ tax, increase spending on child care, create a British investment bank and impose a mansion tax on properties over £2m.

He also reiterated Labour’s pledge to abolish zero-hour contracts.

“These are all things we can do which make a difference,” he said.

“The sums need to add up, but it is about spending the money differently.

“The Tories are promising more and more cuts and people are crying out for change.

“People know our values and they can see the difference we are going to make.”

He said the changes planned should Ed Milliband take up residency in Downing Street would have real and immediate impact on people’s lives.

“These are benefits people would see before Christmas,” he said.

Mr Balls used the announcement of the abolition of “non-domicile status” to reiterate the goal of creating a fairer society.

“Non-dom status” is a means by which certain individuals who live in the UK are able to pay less tax on overseas earnings.

“People want the tax system to work in a fair way – It is not right that there are people claiming special tax status,” he said.

“We can change the way things are being done and make the economy fairer for people who work hard and play by the rules.

“The message is it does not have to be this way. We can change things to work in a fairer way. This is about giving people a fairer deal.”

Carmarthen East and Dinefwr candidate Mr Higgins echoed the message of rebalancing the chasm between rich and poor.

“People want that sense of fairness back,” he said.

“As a party of government we can deliver fairness.”

After drumming up support for Mr Higgins, the Shadow Chancellor jumped back in the bandwagon and sped off down the M4 to get his kicks in Cardiff.