Sir Menzies Campbell will lay into the legacy of nine years of Labour government on Thursday in his first conference speech as Liberal Democrat leader.
He will use his keynote address to set out his party as the only one offering voters "substance" - accusing David Cameron's Tories of having no serious policy.
The speech will centre on the domestic agenda - poverty, taxation, civil liberties and public services - aimed at showing the Liberal Democrats offer "serious" policies.
Sir Menzies, the party's former foreign affairs spokesman, has been forced to battle suggestions he is weaker at dealing with key issues at home in the UK.
And the speech will be preceded by a presentation about Sir Menzies' life story in a bid to underline his credibility to activists at the Brighton gathering.
In what sources say is a "content-packed" but relatively short speech - he will attack the record of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, saying: "Labour has squandered their opportunity. After three victories, Labour has failed.
"The gap between rich and poor is wider than at any point under Margaret Thatcher; we have higher taxes but little improvement in public services. Millions of pensioners remain consigned to poverty - two thirds of them women; hard-working families are crippled by debt; carbon emissions are rising.
"And now hospital wards are closing; doctors and nurses are losing their jobs. This is the domestic legacy of the Blair-Brown government."
Sir Menzies survived the biggest test of his nine-month tenure so far on Tuesday when he overcame a serious rebellion to a radical shake-up of the party's tax policy.
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And a return to the centre stage by predecessor Charles Kennedy - ousted after admitting a drink problem in January - did not have the negative impact many had feared.
