Brown - a happy bunny in the Labour cornfield

The backdrop - a virtual cornfield - was bizarre, like the set for Oklahoma. But Gordon Brown looked and sounded upbeat for the first time in years when he launched Labour's election manifesto for a fourth term in Birmingham this morning.

Those around the PM say that he is privately "up for it" and the most relaxed they have seen him since he first took over from Tony Blair in 2007.

Brown at least looks as though he is beginning to feel natural in his own skin, now that he is free to carry out redistribution of wealth with a return to tax-and-spend policies under his 'fairness' agenda.

Flanked by his Cabinet, Brown presented a manifesto that commits Labour to no further increases in income tax. He also hinted that Labour would not increase VAT, although the manifesto is mute on that point.

There were a few titbits for the Blairites, to try to win back the wavering Labour voters who backed Blair and who are now threatening to desert to the Tories. Brown's first words in Birmingham referred to 'New Labour' and the manifesto commits Labour to some Blairite reforms - extending foundation trust status to all NHS hospitals by 2015, for instance, a policy Brown opposed when he was Chancellor.

Brown even used a new £2.5bn hospital, built with a private finance initiative, to launch his election campaign. The Tories claimed that it was against the rules to use an NHS building for political purposes, but Brown neatly brushed the allegation aside, saying that the building was still owned by the builders and would be transferred to the NHS in weeks.

The manifesto is bereft of all detail about the cuts in public spending and public sector job losses that Treasury ministers have admitted are inevitable if Britain is to reduce its national debt.

Cameron's favourite frontbencher, the former Times columnist Michael Gove, and attack dog Liam Fox will lead the Tory rebuttal today, ahead of tomorrow's launch of their own manifesto. It is likely that the Tories will claim that the Labour manifesto marks an historic break with the Blairite appeal to the 'aspirational' middle classes, although this was denied by Lord Mandelson on Sky News.

Brown is certainly directing Labour's appeal at the middle and low-income groups - the party's core vote. Despite the campaign slogan 'A Future Fair for All', the manifesto endorses 'Old Labour' policies such as taxing the rich at 50p in the pound - something Blair would never have accepted.

And it is all a long way from Lord Mandelson's claim in the heady days of Blairism that he was "relaxed" about people getting "filthy rich". That shift has been accelerated by the recession, and Labour’s decision to reduce Britain's £167bn deficit by raising taxes.

Broon feels happy with tax and spending. However, while the cornfield may be intended to show signs of hope for tomorrow, it could equally provide a good hiding place for unpleasant facts about taxes and public spending cuts. ·