PM outlines 'fair society' vision

In his crucial speech to the party's annual conference in Manchester, the Prime Minister unveiled plans to scrap prescription charges for cancer patients and give elderly people help to stay in their homes and escape the costs of going into care.

And he told delegates that his vision of a "fair society" is "a cause worth fighting for".

Mr Brown's speech was being seen as a make-or-break moment for the beleaguered premier, with his supporters hoping his announcement of dramatic policy initiatives will quell internal discontent about his leadership and persuade voters that the Government is taking positive action to help them with the problems they face.

Although he has faced little open dissent in Manchester, the gathering has been dominated by speculation over a possible future challenge, and the man seen as his most likely rival, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, was forced to rebut reports that he had privately told an adviser he toned down his own conference speech to avoid outshining Mr Brown in a "Heseltine moment".

In a speech described by aides as "bullish", Mr Brown admitted he had made mistakes, particularly over the abolition of the 10p starting rate of income tax, and promised to learn from them. But he insisted he has the right long-term vision for the country and his experience and judgment make him the right person to lead Britain through the current financial turmoil.

He also defended himself against criticism of his personal style, insisting he was right to present himself as he is and right not to allow his family to be used to promote his political message.

Standing before a backdrop bearing the slogan 'Winning the fight for Britain's future', Mr Brown set out a range of plans to help voters with issues ranging from prescription charges to care for the elderly, free nursery education for two-year-olds and linking disadvantaged schoolchildren up to the internet.

He told delegates that over the next year, prescription charges for all NHS drugs will be abolished for cancer patients in England, with the eventual aim of phasing out the £7.10 charge for all patients with long-term conditions. The move immediately takes around 250,000 people out of prescription charges, rising to five million in the longer term.

Mr Brown said: "Because we know that almost every British family has been touched by cancer, (Health Secretary) Alan Johnson and I know we must do more to relieve the financial worry that so often goes alongside the heartache, so our plan is next year to abolish all prescription charges for everyone with cancer. And this is not the limit of our commitment to a fair NHS. In the long term, as the NHS generates cash savings in its drugs budget, we will plough them back into abolishing charges for all patients with long-term conditions."