David Cameron brought the Tory party conference to a rousing climax today when he directly challenged Gordon Brown to call an early election.

Returning to the same platform at Blackpool's Winter Gardens where he charmed Tory activists to win the party leadership two years ago, Mr Cameron announced that he had decided to throw away his speech and speak just from notes.

"It might be a bit messy, but it will be me," he told delegates.

What followed was a wide-ranging trawl through all the major issues facing the party before, more than an hour later, the Tory leader raised the roof by throwing down the electoral gauntlet.

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I think Cameron and the Conservatives have had a good week - and Labour has helped them by the way that they played the election speculation

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"So Mr Brown, what is it going to be? Why don't you go ahead and call that election?" Mr Cameron said.

"Let the people pass judgment on ten years of broken promises. Let the people decide who is really making arguments about the future of our country, let people decide who can make the changes that we need in our country.

"Call that election. We will fight. Britain will win."

With the activists' cheers still ringing around the hall, the PA system then began to blare out the Jimmy Cliff reggae classic You Can Get It If You Really Want It.

Privately, some Conservatives admit that this week's show of unity and carefully programmed release of policies is aimed primarily at boosting the party enough to dissuade Mr Brown from an early election – few believe enough ground could be made up in a quick campaign to threaten Labour's grip.

The Prime Minister and his campaign advisers will be poring minutely over both published and internal polls this weekend to see whether Labour still has the kind of lead that could deliver the party a fourth straight term in power and a bigger majority.

There were no new policy announcements from Mr Cameron but he returned to those of the past week, carefully reviewing Tory policies on education, health, law and order and tax.

Among them were the party's plans to make a more family-friendly tax system, as well as cuts in both stamp duty and inheritance tax. Mr Cameron also said that the party would work to improve the welfare system, under which too many people were being paid to stay off work.

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