Gordon Brown made his election pitch yesterday with a blatant attempt to steal some Tory clothes and rebuild the Middle Britain coalition that gave Labour two landslide victories.

In his first speech to the Labour Party conference as Prime Minister, he laid claim to the traditional Conservative values of aspiration, responsibility and patriotism. It was peppered with 81 references to “Britain” or “British”.

In another nod to the Tories, he called for Labour to protect and cherish the countryside as well as the cities, but provided no details of a new rural policy.

He set out his stall for an election – whenever it comes – with an array of populist announcements and reannouncements on schools, health, crime and maternity pay, but made no specific reference to the market economics that characterised Tony Blair’s premiership.

Among Mr Brown’s main proposals were:
–– A review of 24-hour drinking;
–– That any newcomer to Britain who is caught selling drugs or using guns would be thrown out;
–– Paid maternity leave to be extended to nine months;
–– Ten thousand handheld computers to be given to police officers to cut paperwork;
–– Five thousand hospital matrons to be given powers to overturn hospital cleaning contracts;
–– The number of planned “eco-towns” to be extended from five to ten.

After a period during which he has poached politicians from other parties to advise him, Mr Brown said that new Labour’s aim was now not just to occupy the centre ground, but to “shape and expand” it. But his speech contained none of the challenges to his party or vested interests that characterised many of Mr Blair’s conference addresses.

And it attracted a more enthusiastic union reaction than Mr Blair in his time, or perhaps Mr Brown, would have wanted. Tony Woodley, the joint general secretary of Unite, said that the speech showed that Mr Brown was a man of “decency and integrity”. He added: “It is the most Labour speech we have heard for a decade.”

Last night David Cameron took the battle to Mr Brown and called for a general election. “After that uninspiring speech it is clear Gordon Brown has no answers to Britain’s problems. Conservatives have, and that is why all along we have called for a general election.”

Although Mr Brown again tried yesterday to dampen speculation about an autumn election, without ruling one out, he is still coming under pressure from Cabinet colleagues and advisers to go to the country. He is unlikely to make a final decision until the end of next week, meaning that an early poll would have to be in November.

Mr Brown’s speech pushed all the buttons that he knew would please his party. But he also went beyond the conference hall to make a pledge to the British people that “I will not let you down”, promising to stand up for schools and hospitals and British values.

Mr Brown spoke in a deeply personal way about his father, his schooldays and his time in hospital as a youngster when NHS staff saved one of his eyes.

He promised action on gun crime, under-age and binge drinking and superbugs in the NHS, and fleshed out details of the Government’s ten-year education plan, promising one-to-one tuition for problem children and help for the poorest young people through school, college and university.

Police would have handheld weapons detectors to combat gun crime in Liverpool, Manchester, London and Birmingham.

He also promised that “any newcomer to Britain who is caught selling drugs or using guns will be thrown out. No one who sells drugs to our children or uses guns has the right to stay in our country”.

Conference today

9.00am Policy seminars — foreign affairs, health, education

10.45am-12.45pm Speech by Alan Johnson, Health Secretary

2.15pm-5.30 Speeches by David Miliband, Foreign Secretary, John Hutton, Business Secretary, and Peter Hain, Work and Pensions Secretary; Q&A with Des Browne, Defence Secretary, and Douglas Alexander, International Development Secretary

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