Gordon Brown has unveiled Labour's manifesto with a pledge not to raise income tax and to push forward with reform of the public services
He said the party would be "restless and relentless reformers" and had a "plan for the future" as they sought a fourth term in office. Pledges include "fair taxes", securing the recovery and minimum wage rises.
The Tories say Labour is out of ideas and the Lib Dems say they cannot be trusted to reform tax and politics.
In Monday's other election developments:
- Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has been outlining how he plans to raise the income tax threshold to £10,000
- SNP leader Alex Salmond launches his election campaign in Scotland as Scottish Labour unveils its manifesto
- A 17-year-old is believed to be the youngest election agent in England
In his speech he said Labour was facing "the fight of our lives" adding: "The future will be progressive or Conservative but it will not be both.
"We are in the future business, we are building a future fair for all."
VAT questions
Mr Brown said he had spelt out the tax changes and public spending reductions which were needed before adding, in a dig at the Conservatives, that his policies were not based on a "flimsy four page document that doesn't add up".
 | MANIFESTO PLEDGES No rise in income tax rate New global banks levy No stamp duty for first time buyers on homes below £250k Raise minimum wage in line with earnings Right to recall MPs Referendums on democratic House of Lords and changing voting system  |
Asked for a firmer commitment to rule out a rise in VAT, Mr Brown said: "We have not raised VAT since 1997, the only party that has raised VAT in the last 25 years is the Conservative Party."
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the manifesto specified the need for "tough choices" but did not appear to give much detail about them.
'Father's month'
Mr Brown said he had done more than other countries to spell out how he planned to halve the deficit in four years.
Other commitments include raising the minimum wage to rise in line with average earnings, making 1,000 schools part of "high standard accredited schools groups", every hospital a foundation trust and allowing underperforming police forces or borough commanders to be replaced or taken over.
The manifesto also pledges a right to recall MPs, a referendum on changing the voting system and on removing the last hereditary peers from the House of Commons, and a free vote in Parliament on lowering the voting age to 16.
| LABOUR MANIFESTO |
The manifesto also pledges that patients in England will get a one-week guarantee to get results from a test for cancer.
Labour promised not to raise income tax in its 2005 manifesto, but went on to introduce a new 50p tax rate for incomes over £150,000.
Mr Brown said he did not want to take that measure but "had to" because of the banking crisis and had decided that those with the "broadest shoulders" should bear the biggest burden.
"I accept that we had to take the action that was necessary to deal with the world financial crisis," he said.
'Doing it again'
He said he wanted to create a "bigger middle class than ever before" and pledged to replace "discredited and distrusted politics with one where you, the people, are the boss".
Mr Brown said: "Labour will be restless and relentless reformers. Reformers of the market and reformers of the state."
He also said he had been personally affected by the Fiona Pilkington case - the woman who killed herself and her daughter after years of bullying from local youths.
He said he wanted a Britain where anti-social behaviour and crime were "dealt with quickly" and those who did not get redress would be able to take out an injunction at the expense of their local authority "to secure the justice against anti-social behaviour that you need".
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said Labour had promised "fairness and new politics" in 1997, 2001 and 2005: "They are doing it again. If they haven't managed to do it in 13 years, why would anyone believe they are going to do it this time?"
The Lib Dems will launch their manifesto on Wednesday, but Mr Clegg said its pledge to raise the income tax threshold to £10,000 would be the "key" policy and would put £700 back into the pockets of most people.
|  No new ideas from Labour, a very negative campaign, all about attack and trying to scare people  David Cameron Conservative leader |
He said it was "crazy" to put an extra "tax on jobs" just as the economy was recovering - a reference to Labour's plans to put up National Insurance from 2011 for people on more than £20,000.
It came as the Conservatives launched their next wave of election posters, warning that Gordon Brown would repeat his "failures" if re-elected.
They will publish their manifesto on Tuesday and their pledge to try to block the bulk of the National Insurance rise is expected to be at the heart of it.
Reports suggest a "stabiliser" to cushion the blow of oil price rises for motorists will also be among the Tories' pledges.
Mr Cameron said: "I think there's a contrast in this campaign, frankly. No new ideas from Labour, a very negative campaign, all about attack and trying to scare people - and very positive, agenda-setting ideas from the Conservatives."
It follows a row over Labour leaflets claiming the Tories would scrap a guarantee over cancer specialist referrals, which Mr Cameron has called "sick".
BBC
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