As the Conservative conference concludes, the party has set out to prove it is well on the way to establishing itself as a viable alternative to Labour.

The party has released a document setting out the direction in which it intends to develop policy before the next general election.

Entitled "Trusting people", it sets out the party's aim of gaining the confidence of voters who, the party believes, are increasingly losing faith in the government.

Billed as a contribution to the process of policy renewal - "this document is not a manifesto" it says - the blueprint builds on the party's previous critique of Labour's preference for a "top-down approach to government".

Seeking to establish "clear blue water" between the two parties, the document puts the emphasis on putting power "back in the hands of local people".

"By trusting people, we will set services free from bureaucracy and central control, and by this means our fulfil our aspiration for the future of Britain - a fair deal for everyone," Iain Duncan Smith writes in the foreword.

While the ambitions set out in the document have been set out previously, the party is aiming to prove it has developed both a coherent critique of the government's policies, and a guiding principle to underpin its own policies across a range of areas.

The emphasis is being put on trusting frontline public sector staff such as teachers and doctors, reducing central control and Whitehall "interference".

Coupled with that comes greater choice in schools for parents and in healthcare for patients.

The same theme has also been extended to policing, where local communities will be given a greater say in local crime fighting strategies.

And by emphasising the role of charities, voluntary organisations and "social entrepreneurs", the party also says it is "trusting citizens to renew society".

In a bid to stress the aims of "compassionate Conservatism", the party is also pledging a significant boost to state pensions and an increase in rehabilitation places for young drug addicts.

However, there is also a range of policies designed to appeal to the party's traditional voters, ranging from tougher policies on asylum, opposition to joining the euro and a demand for a referendum on the proposed European constitution.

"New Labour asked people to trust them to change Britain," wrote Duncan Smith.

"But they have abused that trust by seizing ever more powers, and imposing ever higher taxes, failing to deliver the real reforms of public services that we need and failing even to be honest with the British people.

"Rather than demanding trust only to break it, our agenda for public services and communities simply offers government that trusts the people.

"The choice at the next election could not be clearer. Labour will say to the people: 'You must trust us.' We will say to them: 'We will trust you'."