Analysis By James Hardy Political correspondent, BBC News

Gordon Brown used his speech to outline his vision Brown speech

It could almost be a metaphor for the way the shine has come off the once slick New Labour machine.

As the applause died down in the Birmingham conference centre, Gordon and Sarah Brown dawdled awkwardly on stage, apparently unsure which way they were supposed to exit.

It was a mix-up of the sort which simply would not have happened to Tony Blair, whose every step was choreographed by a small army of minders.

But things have changed under Gordon Brown. The sureness of touch which characterised the Blair years has been notably lacking over the past eight months.

Senior aides admit they might have allowed themselves to bask a little too much in the early triumphs of the Brown premiership, when his serious demeanour lent itself well to tackling terror attacks, flooding and farming crises.

The slogan was "Not flash, just Gordon" and initially it seemed to do the trick.

Desperation

But then the wheels came off as the government was buffeted by bad news with the crisis at Northern Rock, rows over tax, lost computer discs and a host of other difficulties.

So it is no surprise that there is now an almost palpable desperation for a period of calm - and that means no rocking the boat. As a result, Labour's spring conference has been low key almost to the point of invisibility.

Mr Brown was both equipping his party with ammunition to fight the Conservatives and sending a signal of intent to the sometimes cumbersome government machine

The "big" announcement on Friday was a modest acceleration of the city academies programme by the Children's Secretary Ed Balls. Mr Brown went one better in what seemed like a determined attempt, as the Washington press corps might put it, not to "commit news".

The idea, according to aides, was to get the government back on track. So Mr Brown used his half-hour address to once again outline his vision and give his party reasons to be cheerful.

Pledges were repeated to drive down child poverty, build more houses, cut hospital waiting times, open GP surgeries at evenings and weekends, refurbish schools and step up skills training. Downing Street believes they are not only deliverable but will be reality within the coming months and years.

'Difficult campaign'

By laying them out in some detail, Mr Brown was both equipping his party with ammunition to fight the Conservatives and sending a signal of intent to the sometimes cumbersome government machine.

The immediate focus are the local elections in England and Wales on May 1.

Labour, in mid-term, is expecting a "difficult and challenging" campaign in which it will have to fight for every vote. Party leaders haven't exactly written off their chances nationally but it's clear their main determination is not to lose London.

Some of the most vicious attacks of the conference have been reserved for Boris Johnson, the Tory mayoral hopeful in the capital. Not only have they been deeply personal, but they have betrayed an unexpected nervousness about Labour's chances.