By Brian Wheeler Political reporter, BBC News

Gordon Brown has told delegates at Labour's spring conference he wants to "build the Britain of our dreams".

Labour voters: Richard Williams and Yvonne Staunton

But does the prime minister's rhetoric mean anything to ordinary voters - the hard-working families who "play by the rules" that Mr Brown spoke about in his speech?

I talked to shoppers in the centre of Birmingham - a few hundred metres from Labour's conference venue - to find out what they had made of his opening months in Downing Street and whether they think Labour is truly in tune with their hopes and aspirations, as Mr Brown claims.

As is often the case, some of the people we spoke to in our random snapshot of opinion had given up on politics altogether.

Pilates instructor James Whitehouse, 34, was typical of those when he said that although he preferred Tony Blair to Mr Brown - "at least I don't feel like he sneaked into office" - he thought all politicians were "dishonest" and untrustworthy.

A number of Labour voters hankered after the "charisma" of Mr Blair - even if they said they were against the way he "spun" the war in Iraq to the public.

'Quiet prime minister'

And although Labour supporters I spoke to were generally underwhelmed by Mr Brown's performance as prime minister, none said they were thinking of switching their vote to David Cameron's Conservatives.

Curiously, some Conservative voters seemed more willing to give Mr Brown the benefit of the doubt - although they were angry at the way Labour had treated its core supporters.

One woman, who did not want to give her name, accused Labour of "betraying ordinary working people" on issues such as university tuition fees.

Siobhan Crawley sometimes forgets Mr Brown is PM

Just about everybody I spoke to seemed to see Mr Brown not as the visionary leader daring to dream of a better future as, judging from his keynote speech on Saturday, he would like to be seen, but as a more modest, cautious sort of character.

"He is quite a quiet prime minister," said Siobhan Crawley, a 41-year-old Labour-voting accountant.

"I sometimes forget he is prime minister at all. Tony Blair was more charismatic and made more of a noise."

'More money'

Richard Williams, a 34-year old mental health nurse, said: "He has been a bit fumbling. It feels like there has not been much direction."

His partner, teacher Yvonne Staunton, 33, said: "He has had a lot of bad press since he took over. But it was a bit sly, the way that he took office by default.

"It seems like a lot of the problems around at the moment, like Northern Rock, date back to before he became prime minster."

She added: "There has been more money in education, definitely, although some of the changes going on are just change for change sake, rather than something positive."

She said teachers were not necessarily the best people to decide how to spend the extra money they get, adding: "I have come from industry and teachers are not particularly good at managing things."

The couple both voted Labour at the last election and said they would probably do so next time, although Ms Staunton said she would like to see some "new blood" at the top of the party, in place of Mr Brown.

'Poor decisions'

Not surprisingly, given their jobs, they both welcomed the extra cash Labour had pumped into health and education although, they both said they could do with a break from the endless stream of new government initiatives.

Steve Smith, who works for a housing association, welcomed Mr Brown's decision to push the need for more new homes to the top of the political agenda.

Steve Smith and Sharon Keen were turned off by Mr Brown's Iraq visit

But he had mixed feelings about Mr Brown's overall performance as PM.

"He has made quite a few tactically poor decisions and he was advised quite poorly on a number of issues. I think he needs to prove himself quite quickly."

If the economy lurches into recession this year, Mr Smith believes that rather than backing Mr Brown as an experienced pair of hands, voters might well "look for a change".

"Particularly if it bites the middle classes," he added, "which Labour has courted.

"If the middle classes start to move against Labour and if the Tories play it right, there is every chance of a change."

Mr Brown's biggest blunder, according to Mr Smith, was his decision to visit British troops in Iraq during last year's Conservative Party conference.

His partner, Conservative voter Sharon Keen, an accountant, agreed.

"I was prepared to give Brown a run. I didn't like Tony Blair one bit so I thought Brown might be better but I think he has made silly mistakes like going out to the soldiers in the middle of the Conservative Party conference."