Tories to copy Obama's 'plan for change' slogan

The Tory leader has adopted the motto "plan for change" - used to promote the US Senator's economic policies - as his conference theme.

Its use underlines how closely Mr Cameron's team is modelling his strategy on Mr Obama's campaign for the White House.

For the first time for more than a decade the Tories are holding their annual gathering believing they are on the way back to power.

However, Mr Cameron is wary of the impact of the economic situation and believes any sign of triumphalism in Birmingham will go down badly with voters.

He has cancelled an openingday session on the party's recent electoral victories and will instead hold an emergency debate, featuring shadow chancellor George Osborne, on the economic crisis, followed by a speech by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

He is also following Senator Obama's formula for dealing with questions about his relative inexperience compared to Gordon Brown.

The Democrat responds by saying the type of experience held by the Republican administration - and his rival Senator McCain - is not what the US needs.

Asked in an interview with Sky News tonight about the Prime Minister's "novice" remarks, Mr Cameron said: "Let's look at the question of experience.

"Yes, this Prime Minister has got experience; he has got the experience of building up the biggest budget deficit of any industrialised country, he has got the experience of designing the regulatory system that failed to prevent the first run on a bank in Britain in 150 years.

"He has got the experience of saying year after year 'I have ended boom and bust'. And yet now we face really difficult economic circumstances. Now, I don't think that is the experience we need right now."

Shadow business secretary Alan Duncan added: "[Mr Brown is] a man in Number 10 who just can't hack it. He's out of his depth".

But the Tory leader will not be adopting the US-style conference introduction by his wife as practised by Sarah Brown at in Manchester this week.

Mr Cameron, it is suggested, does not need his wife Samantha to appeal to his party to give him a second chance.

Mr Cameron also defended his decision to allow his children to appear in the media after Mr Brown accused him of treating them like "props not people".

He said: "For me, my family is the biggest thing in my life and that's why I have done what I've done and if the PM wants to have a go well fine, that's life."