Smith contends that Corbyn is unable to defeat the Tories in a general election, and that the only way to implement Labour policies is to choose a leader who can.
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Last month, Mr Miliband, who represents Doncaster North, said Jeremy Corbyn should resign after losing the backing of the majority of Labour MPs in Parliament.
‘I want a Labour leader who can unite our party and make us a serious alternative government, ‘ he said.
The Pontypridd MP and Labour leadership candidate will pledge to work to “make Britain the workshop of the world once more”.
Mr Miliband’s comments come amid an intensifying battle for the Labour leadership, with Mr Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson entering a new war of words.
Mr Miliband’s endorsement comes after he urged Mr Corbyn to stand down in the wake of an overwhelming vote of no confidence from Labour MPs.
Mr Smith and Jeremy Corbyn are fighting it out to be next Labour leader, with the victor due to be announced on 24 September.
He is one of a small number of Shadow Cabinet ministers to have remained in place through the recent turbulence at the top of the Labour party, and he repeated today that he would not publicly take a side in the leadership contest.
The news means that new Labour party members will be able to vote in the contest, speculated to be to the benefit of incumbent Jeremy Corbyn.
Their exchanges followed the election of a slate of left-leaning candidates to Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), seen by many as a win for Mr Corbyn.
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“But there are some old hands twisting young arms in this process, and I’m under no illusions about what’s going on. Sooner or later, that always end up in disaster”. “We have seen that vision of a more even society shining through in his campaign, and we’ve seen him translating that into a programme as well”.
