Gordon Brown is accused of many things by his critics, but fluffy he is not and on Friday he pledged that a Brown government would make a clean break from the culture of celebrity and spin that has tainted Tony Blair’s decade in power.

Instead he said he would lead a “humble” government, an administration that would “listen, learn” and set new priorities for Britain. Yes, there would be a clean break with the style of Blair’s new Labour but its programme of liberal social and economic reform would continue unabated.

“As a politician I have never sought the public eye for its own sake,” he said. “I have never believed presentation should be a substitute for policy. I do not believe politics is about celebrity.”

So much for the style; what of the substance?

At his press conference on Friday, Brown was careful not to suggest that there would be any U-turns in the key areas of social policy and used the phrase “new Labour” to signal to Blairite critics that he would be moving forward, not back.

He wanted Britain to be “number one for education” and said he would build a “personal” health service fitted to each individual’s needs that “earns the trust of patients”. There would also be “more affordable housing”, “stronger, safer communities” and “better work-life balance”.

Despite these assurances, not everyone is convinced that he will continue with the Blair project.

Neal Lawson, a former Brown aide and now director of the left-leaning think tank Compass, said: “A key issue will be public service reform — being less committed as Blair was to commercialisation, or privatisation within the NHS. And on education, I think he will slow down the pace of city academies and there will be less incentive for schools to go to trust status.”

Others expect more continuity. Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at Oxford University, predicts that there will be a change of tone but no radical departure from the Blair years: “The idea that Brown is old Labour is absurd. He was in the vanguard of creating new Labour throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His style will be different from Blair but there will be no radical policy break.”

New Labour or otherwise, Brown knows he must offer Britain something new if he is to win a fourth term and those around him have long predicted a raft of new policy initiatives from the moment he enters office. These are some of the frontrunners:

Sleaze-busting package Following cash for honours and other scandals, Brown can only gain by cracking down on sleaze, so expect a new ministerial code which sets out clear standards of behaviour for ministers. Crucially, he has said he will make ministers accountable to parliament rather than the prime minister for their personal conduct. Also, parliament will be given the right to vet and veto appointments to senior public positions in a bid to crack down on cronyism.

Constitutional reform Brown has organised a series of seminars on the theme “towards a constitutional settlement”. He said on Friday that he wants a “better constitution” which is “clear about the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen in Britain today”. It remains unclear if he wants a US-style written constitution — something that the UK has never had — or whether a looser bill of rights may emerge. Plans to set up an all-party convention looking at new powers for parliament and rebalancing powers between Whitehall and local government are expected. Brown has also said that he will give parliament the final say on whether British troops are sent into action in future.

Environment Brown is said to be planning to break up the Department of Trade and Industry and hand its responsibility for setting energy policy to the environment department. This would be welcomed by green campaigners as energy generation is the key factor in tackling climate change. He has also signalled support for new green homes in the budget and “carbon neutral” towns.

Foreign policy Brown cannot “cut and run” from Iraq or Afghanistan any more than Blair could. But on Friday he said that he would “learn the lessons” from the mistakes made in Iraq. He remains staunchly pro-American, but is likely to be much more cautious than Blair about becoming involved in military action.

Housing Planning restrictions are likely to be relaxed, particularly to allow more homes to be built for key workers in the NHS and education sectors. Brown wants to release more land and ease access to ownership with shared equity schemes. Tomorrow he will back a proposal to build five new eco-towns, each housing between 10,000 and 20,000 homeowners — up to 100,000 new homes in total.

ID cards Brown’s campaign manager has hinted that one of Blair’s key policies will be reviewed. The cost of the £5.5 billion scheme is spiralling. However, Brown said yesterday that he would press ahead with it.

Europe Brown is not thought to be keen on Blair’s wish to sign up to a new European Union “mini-treaty” which can be imposed in the UK without the need for a referendum.

Times Recommends

• The bright side of this winter rain
• Story behind the picture: Snow Leopard, 2008
• Times Charity Appeal: The Place2Be