Ed Miliband promised to set out his "new plan" for a Britain yearning for change in an eve-of-conference rallying cry.

As the last pre-election political conference season gets under way, Mr Miliband said Britain "needs a change of government and we are going to do it".

Addressing activists gathering in Manchester, the Labour leader said the country "doesn't work for most working people".

The conference season will be dominated by the fallout from the Scottish referendum result, and the divisions between the three Westminster parties over how the next stage of devolution will happen.

David Cameron and Mr Miliband have clashed over how to proceed, with the Prime Minister determined to make changes to ensure "English votes for English laws" at Westminster as part of a package of reform - something that Labour fear will erode the influence of their Scottish MPs.

The Labour leader indicated that he was moving on from the alliance forged between the three Westminster parties in the Scottish referendum campaign as he spoke in Manchester.

He said: "The last few months have been about keeping our country together. The next eight months are about how we change our country together.

"And we know that yearning for change is there right across our country. Constitutional change matters, but we know that something else matters even more: this country doesn't work for most working people and we, the Labour Party, are going to change it."

Setting out his priorities, he said: "This conference is about all of those families treading water, unable to benefit from the recovery. This conference is about all of those young people who worry about their future.

"And this conference is about our National Health Service sliding backwards under this Government.

"This week we set out Labour's plan for Britain's future: rewarding hard work, ensuring the next generation does better than the last, protecting and improving our public services.

"And this week we show how we are going to change Britain so it works for everyday working people and not just a privileged few at the top.

"Our plan starts today by showing how we build the homes our country needs, because so many young families are struggling to get on the housing ladder.

"We are going to change it so we build a future for all our young people throughout the United Kingdom.

"This is the last conference before the general election. Britain needs a new plan for you and your family, Britain needs a new government and we are going to make it happen and we are going to show how this week."

The Labour gathering in Manchester begins with a women's conference addressed by deputy leader Harriet Harman, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper and shadow equalities minister Gloria De Piero, before the main conference gets under way tomorrow.

In an interview with the Guardian, shadow chancellor Ed Balls said the party will seek to fight the election on the twin issues of stagnant living standards and safeguarding the NHS.

But he stressed that Labour would only pursue changes that are "credible and costed", ruling out free universal child care in the next parliament, as well as free bus passes for 16- to 18-year-olds.

Labour would set up New Homes Corporations to increase the number of properties being built.

The corporations will take responsibility for areas prioritised for development, and set out the timetable over which construction will take place.

The plan is one of the recommendations of the commission chaired by Sir Michael Lyons which Labour established to tackle the housing shortage.

The corporations will be set up by local authorities, working with private sector developers and housing associations.

Labour claims the policy will tackle the problem of developers holding back land because they do not have certainty it will be built on, give better strategic planning and increase competition in house building.

Mr Miliband's party will also commit to cutting business rates for small firms in 2015 if they win the election, funded by not going ahead with the Government's plan to cut corporation tax.

A Tory spokesman dismissed the housing plan as "an empty promise from Ed Miliband".

He said: "The last Labour government also promised to build over 200,000 homes a year - but in reality housebuilding collapsed to its lowest level since the 1920s. Labour left our housing market and economy on its knees - and would do it all over again."

The Labour leader has stressed he is committed to deliver on the timetable for Scottish devolution set out by Gordon Brown and endorsed by all three Westminster party leaders.

But the party's wariness over the Prime Minister's plan to link the reforms to addressing the status of English and Scottish MPs was attacked by backbencher Kate Hoey.

The outspoken former minister wrote on Twitter: "No need for a constitutional convention to tell us that it is totally wrong for Scottish MPs to vote on English only laws."