What price Brown's policy vision?

By Jo Coburn
Political correspondent, BBC News

Gordon Brown hope the plans will resonate with the public

Building Britain's Future, an innocuous sounding title for the glossy document announced today by the prime minister.

But looks can be deceptive.

It was dubbed by David Cameron as a package without a price tag but turning the pages there is some real substance in what read more like a Labour party election manifesto

The most eye-catching headlines are on jobs and housing.

Young people under the age of 25 who refuse the offer of a government-created job - after being unemployed for more than a year - will face having their benefit docked.

As a result of today's announcement, those who refuse a suitable job offer could lose two weeks' benefit or up to six months if they continue to refuse to participate.

Where a suitable job isn't available, they'll be offered a choice of either training or community work experience.

Failure to complete a 13-week community task force without good cause would will also result in benefit sanctions.

Housing perceptions

On housing, the "reasonable preference" rules governing council housing will be adapted.

This could include more flexibility for councils to favour local people or those who've been on the housing waiting list for a long time instead of new immigrants - so correcting a 'perception' that the allocation system is unfair.

There was some scratching of heads at the announcement that £1.5bn will be found to fund 20,000 new affordable homes over the next two years.

With the cupboard bare, where was the government going to find that kind of cash without increasing public spending?

Apparently from under-spending in a number of departments and "reprioritising" within the Communities and Local Government department, which oversee housing.

So a revenue neutral package of measures!

There was also a lot of focus on what has been called "entitlement entrenchment" and the move away from performance targets beloved of the Blair era.

Primary care trusts (PCTs) will have statutory obligations in relation to cancer care and waiting list times.

A positive move for patients although in reality most PCT's already meet their requirements in these areas.

A similar picture for the provision of one to one tuition in secondary schools for pupils falling behind.

But a government pledge to have no failing schools by 2011 may be overambitious.

What wasn't included in the document but will put a smile on the faces of many Labour MPs are the clear signals from Peter Mandelson that he might not quite get round to part-privatising Royal Mail.

The Business Secretary and First Secretary of State also let the cat out of the bag by indicating there'll be no spending review before the next election.

That means Gordon Brown won't have to set out how and where the government will make cuts to public spending and so can go on accusing the Tories of preparing to slash some departmental budgets by 10%, highlighting his favoured dividing lines.

Who says the election campaign hasn't started already?