BRITAIN: David Cameron has pledged to build "a new spirit of social responsibility" in Britain while insisting the Conservative Party will again seek to govern from its natural terrain on "the centre ground" of politics.
And he has offered his party and the country a personal definition of himself as a man who is fundamentally "optimistic about human nature".
On the opening day of the Conservative conference, Mr Cameron dismissed right-wing calls for firm commitments to cut taxes - "they can't have them" - and warned his party would remain in opposition if it clung to the ideological fringe of public debate.
Those party critics calling for "substance" from the new Conservative leader really wanted "the old politics back", said Mr Cameron - and they couldn't have that either.
In his first address to conference as leader - ahead of his big set-piece speech on Wednesday - Mr Cameron insisted: "Our party's history tells us the ground on which political success is built - it is the centre ground, not the bog of political compromise, not the ideological wilderness out on the fringes of debate. The centre ground is where you find the concerns, the hopes and the dreams of most people and families in this country."
At the same time Mr Cameron was busy casting doubt on the hopes and dreams of the chancellor, Gordon Brown, as he signalled his intention to exploit Labour's protracted leadership contest and to seek to undermine the man still most likely to succeed Tony Blair as prime minister.
In a ferocious attack, Mr Cameron used an interview with the Sunday Telegraph to suggest Mr Brown had been left looking tragic, weak and lacking credibility in the furore following the failed "coup" attempt to force Mr Blair's early departure from Downing Street.
Suggesting Mr Brown was being "pushed around" by everyone, from his advisers to his potential rivals for the top job, Mr Cameron said of his likely future opponent: "He's been told he needs to look more modern, so he tells us he likes the Arctic Monkeys. Incredible. He's told he looks too Scottish, so he tells us he likes Gazza's [ Paul Gascoigne's] goal against Scotland [ in 1996]. Utterly incredible. He's told 'You're plotting too much and you look like a schemer', so he says 'Tony's always going to be my friend'. Completely incredible."
But Mr Cameron's immediate priority yesterday was to face down those, led by former cabinet minister John Redwood, calling for firm commitments to reduce taxes.
"I can't say to the British people, 'Here are some up-front tax cuts, which we haven't found out how to fund'," Mr Cameron told the BBC. "Those people who say they want tax cuts and they want them now - they can't have them."
In his speech, meanwhile, the man often described as "Blair's heir" continued to challenge his right wing with a rehearsal of the developing agenda around his big theme of "social responsibility" - and a reminder that the party had lost power by "banging on" about issues such as Europe and talking about the things they, rather than the people, cared about most.
In a take on John F Kennedy's famous "Ask not what your country can do for you" routine, Mr Cameron - likened to a young JFK by yesterday's guest speaker, Senator John McCain - said: "When we see challenges to overcome, we do not just ask what government can do. We ask what people can do, what society can do. This is what we mean by social responsibility."
Mr Cameron went on: "We want to build a Britain that is more green. More family-friendly. With more local control over the things that matter. Less arrogant about politicians' ability to do it all on their own. But more optimistic about what we can achieve if we all work together. An opportunity society, not an empowering state."
The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, and his deputy, Peter Robinson, will address a fringe meeting in Bournemouth at lunchtime today.