Conservative leader David Cameron has promised to fight Labour's recent dominance in opinion polls amid growing speculation about an autumn election.
Arriving in Blackpool for the Tory party's annual conference, Mr Cameron said his party would offer a "clear and compelling" alternative.
He is expected to outline a raft of new policies at the conference including tax breaks for first-time home buyers.
His comments come as it emerged that Labour have an 11-point poll lead.
Mr Cameron has insisted he will not be distracted from modernising the party.
He said he would be "spelling out exactly" what changes he would make and added voters would only get change by voting for a Conservative government.
Mr Cameron said: "This is going to be the week when the Conservative Party fights back. We are going to be setting out an absolutely clear and compelling alternative to this government."
Parliamentary gains
The Tories are expected to propose an Airline Pollution Duty, designed to encourage airlines to fly with full planes and penalise them for flights with only a few passengers on board.
They will also have a manifesto which promises to scrap stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes worth up to £250,000.
Mr Cameron said the pledge showed the Conservatives were the "party of aspiration, giving you power and control over your life".
The new policy announcements are also expected to include tax breaks for families with children worth up to £2,000 a year.
"Clearly they're thinking in the Labour Party that if they don't have an election soon, then Brown will be rumbled, and people will be fed up with him in very short order"
The measure would be funded by a crackdown on "work-shy" benefits claimants including "aggressive" penalties for those who turn down jobs.
The government has dismissed many of the policies, saying Mr Cameron has to explain how the ideas are going to be paid for.
"It's not proper opposition politics, let alone government politics, to come along with billion-pound announcements which you can't show where the money's going to come from," said Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls.
BBC political correspondent Mark Sanders said that this year's Tory conference was crucial for Mr Cameron, who has faced criticism of his leadership from within his party.
'Brown bounce'
In an interview, Michael Gove, the shadow education secretary and a Tory moderniser, said internal critics of Mr Cameron had handed Labour an electoral advantage.
Mr Brown is expected to spend the next 48 hours weighing up whether to go to the country with an early general election.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said the Tories were ready for an early election.
"Clearly they're thinking in the Labour Party that if they don't have an election soon, then Brown will be rumbled, and people will be fed up with him in very short order," he said.
"That's influencing a lot of their thinking about a quick general election. But we're ready for that, our organisation is absolutely ready.
"We are well funded, we have excellent candidates in place and, as I say, I think you will see when we've finished this week, a very strong policy platform for that election as well."
Labour has enjoyed its lead - dubbed the "Brown bounce" - since Mr Brown took over as prime minister in June.
'Very encouraged'
An Ipsos/Mori poll for the Observer found Mr Cameron trailed Mr Brown on almost all indicators of public opinion.
The poll showed 60% of voters thought Mr Brown was best able to handle a crisis with 13% for Mr Cameron.
Mr Brown even led on the issue among Tory supporters with 32% opting for Mr Cameron compared to 37% for Mr Brown.
A YouGov poll for the Daily Telegraph gives the party an 11-point lead, with Labour on 43%, the Conservatives on 32% and the Liberal Democrats on 15%.
The survey of 2,165 voters across Great Britain between 26 and 28 September suggests that 45% believe Mr Brown is in touch with people's concerns, compared to 18% who say the same of Mr Cameron.
A separate Populous poll for the Times puts Labour on 41%, the Tories on 31% and the Liberal Democrats on 17%.
But the Conservatives have said they are "very encouraged" by the latest English council by-election results - in which they took a seat from Labour, and achieved swings that would translate to Parliamentary gains.
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