After the glitz and razzmatazz of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown was decidedly not flash. His first speech as prime minister to the Labour Party conference was heavy on policy ideas and light on humour. Brown even admitted that sometimes he was too serious. But he struck the right note for a party that had grown tired with Blair’s wide grin and his emphasis on image. There was still pop music, but just the one song.

As the crowd rose to their feet for a standing ovation after his speech, TV cameras focused in on a woman in the audience wiping tears from her eyes. A nurse in the crowd said his speech had sent her heart beating faster, that she hadn’t been so excited about being a Labour Party member since 1997.

Brown ticked all the right boxes to keep his party happy - from union leaders to hospital workers to would-be mothers. His wish-list of policies appealed to manufacturers, students and carers.

He still looks a little wooden in the limelight and doesn’t quite know what to do with his hands or whether to smile when he’s the focus of attention. But Brown seems a lot more comfortable in front of the cameras than three months ago when he took over.

And rightly so. Unlike Blair, he doesn’t have a Brown to deal with, an arch rival waiting in the wings. For a man who is said to eschew media management and “spin”, he has managed this conference to perfection. The whole event has been about Brown.

That has left the huge team of journalists rather downbeat. The Blair-Brown split saga has kept headline writers busy for the past few years. Hence the media stir about a potential election, but Brown didn’t even rise to that bait.

What did you think of Brown’s speech? Has he created clear water between himself and Blair? Is it a new start for Labour?