Vote 2010: 'Affordable' manifesto for Labour

Election coverage in full

The manifesto, launched in the West Midlands today, will include no big new spending commitments, in contrast to Conservative pledges of tax breaks for marriage, community service schemes and the reversal of National Insurance rises.

But Prime Minister Gordon Brown will promise "bold" reforms to rebuild and rebalance the economy and ensure better value for money from public services at a time of spending constraint.

Details of the manifesto came as the Tories revealed state officials would be barred from entering private homes without a magistrate's warrant.

They said they would also restrict powers of entry to cases involving "serious criminal offences" or public safety as part of a crackdown.

Labour had introduced 587 such powers since 1997 despite promises to curb the "snooper state", the Opposition alleged.

Under measures to be included in tomorrow's Tory manifesto, only the police and emergency services would be exempt from the new rules.

In his foreword to the Labour document, Mr Brown will say that Labour's programme is "ambitious but affordable, bold but realistic, and learns from the lessons we take from our experience to date".

"This cannot, and will not, be a 'business as usual' election or manifesto," Mr Brown will say.

"In this manifesto we set out plans to address the main future challenges we face in our economy, our society and our politics. We will rebuild the economy to secure the recovery and invest in future growth and jobs. We will renew our society to further strengthen the communities that bind our country together.

"And we will restore trust in politics with greater transparency and accountability in a system battered by the expenses scandal."

The launch comes a day after Cabinet minister Ed Miliband, the author of the manifesto, admitted that Labour were the "underdogs" in the May 6 election and former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott acknowledged that the party was "not in the supreme riding position we were in before".

But Mr Brown made clear that he believes voters will make their decision on the basis of "substance", rather than the "pyrotechnics and superficialities" of a Conservative campaign which has seen David Cameron appear alongside celebrities like Sir Michael Caine and Sir Ian Botham.

Labour strategists believe that the sober and restrained tone of the manifesto will chime with voters' mood as Britain slowly recovers from the deepest economic recession of modern times.

The manifesto will promise, for the fourth election in succession, that Labour will not raise the basic rate of income tax.

And it is expected to include measures to prevent a repeat of Kraft's hostile takeover of Cadbury, with Mr Brown promising to "deal with the question of how shareholders suddenly appear on the register at the last minute".

Describing the manifesto as "pro-business", Mr Miliband confirmed that Labour will also promise the creation of a Green Investment Bank to direct funds to low-carbon technologies.

New rules will prevent a small group of people in the financial sector taking risks with the prosperity of society, he said.

And there are expected to be measures to boost council house-building, help first-time buyers on to the housing ladder and guarantee test results for cancer patients within a week.

But speaking in east London on the eve of the manifesto's launch, Mr Miliband conceded: "Of course there will be difficult decisions that have to be taken in relation to public spending, and there will have to be cuts in lower-priority programmes."