DAVID CAMERON was warned to stop “measuring up for the curtains in Downing Street”, as Labour’s last conference before the election closed on a defiant note yesterday.

Deputy leader Harriet Harman also accused the Conservative leader of planning to reward the rich with tax cuts in a “millionaires’ manifesto”.

But Gordon Brown suffered a setback when the conference agreed a shake-up that weakens his grip on policymaking – and could allow leftwingers to push for more radical policies.

Delegates defied the Labour leadership by voting to allow every member to decide who sits on the National Policy Forum – although the change will not come in until after next year’s General Election.

On the conference stage, Ms Harman urged the Labour faithful to take the fight to the Tories, warning their plans were a “like a wrecking ball which would demolish the recovery”.

She said: “We are not going to be told by the Tories that it is their turn, their right, to lead the country.

“The Tories are arrogant through and through. They are measuring up for the curtains in Downing Street – taking votes for granted.”

Foreign Secretary David Miliband condemned Conservative isolation in Europe, saying: “The Tories are not a government-in-waiting. They are a national embarrassment.”

The conference ended with Labour buffeted by The Sun newspaper’s decision to end its 12-year support, but insistent it can still turn the tide.

Initial reaction to Mr Brown’s speech was positive – Labour enjoyed a big bump in one poll, up to 30 per cent – and, his aides believe, successfully shone a light on the true impact of Conservative policy.

The first aim of the conference was to show the Government had not run out of steam – hence new promises on social care, childcare, “green”

jobs and quicker cancer tests.

But just as important was the attempt to convince voters that Tory plans to reduce the budget deficit faster will inflict real damage to schools and hospitals, and strangle the economic recovery. The next big test for Labour will be next month’s pre-Budget report, when Chancellor Alistair Darling will set out detailed plans to rein back spending if the General Election is won.

Other hurdles ahead include a decision on whether to send more British troops to Afghanistan – and the expenses scandal could yet come back to haunt the Prime Minister, when a four-year audit of all MPs’ claims is completed this autumn.