10 things Brown must do to save Labour; EXCLUSIVE.

Byline: KEVIN MAGUIRE

IT''S fight or die for Gordon Brown as Labour gathers in Brighton today for the party's last conference before next spring's election.

Trailing badly in the polls and facing calls to quit on his own side, the Prime Minister needs not so much a revival as a resurrection.

These are the 10 commandments Brown must follow if Labour is to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in political history.

Or we''ll all have to prepare for the horror of a Tory Britain and Prime Minister Cameron, the UK ruled by an Old Etonian for the first time in 46 years.

Gord help us all if Brown fails to follow all 10.

FIGHT

1 Putting the fight back into Labour should be Gordon Brown's priority. Too many MPs are like condemned convicts, resigned to a spring appointment with the hangman.

Dragging Labour off its deathbed calls for supernatural powers when the polls are so grim.

But to go down fighting is preferable to a long, agonising goodbye.

Brown has to stop his party holding a postmortem when the patient is weak not dead.

Rally the troops, Gordon, or it will be a government of the living dead.

BE BOLD

2 Sixteen points behind in the polls and looming oblivion tells me the bland old way was the wrong way.

Brown''s mission is to offer the British people a fairer, better Britain that'll win enough votes back for Labour to survive as the biggest party or at least stop Cameron achieving a majority.

To predict Labour could enjoy a fourth overall majority would be delusional so I'll stay in the real world.

Fairness must be the test by which every policy is judged.

Higher taxes on a rich elite are fair, as is reintroducing the axed 10p tax.

Building houses would be fair. Fulfilling a slipped commitment to erase the scar of child poverty would be fair. And nothing would be fairer than ending the greed is good culture that saw the bankers wreck the economy.

NAIL CAM THE SHAM

3 Slippery David Cameron has so far enjoyed a charmed life and proved as difficult to pin down as nailing a blancmange to the wall.

This son of Thatcher was horribly wrong on banks and the economy.

His dangerous obsession with cutting spending too soon and too deep would have cost countless jobs.

Brown must expose the economic illiteracy and traditional Con-servative behind the smile and slick charm.

Cuddling up to Europe's lunatic gay-bashing, climate changedenying racists isn't modern. You can tell a man by his friends.

DEFEND YOUR RECORD

4 Roofs were fixed and the last 12 years weren't entirely wasted.

The NHS is healthier, schools pass a progress test, while pounds 1 jobs and no paid holidays belong to an earlier Tory era.

Brown should boast about successes like the minimum wage and help for pensioners who, to coin a phrase, have never had it so good. The government has achievements to be proud of and desperately needs confidence to go on the offensive. It may be Brown's fate not to be appreciated until a Tory is in No 10.

SHOW LEADERSHIP

5 Brown must persuade voters he's staying in No 10 if he's to be heard on vital issues like the economy, education and health.

Silencing party critics like Charles Clarke won't be easy short of imprisoning them in the Tower of London.

But Brown should declare - no ifs, no buts - that he'll fight the election as PM.

Another coup attempt would be madness, political suicide by a party that would have lost its collective marbles. MPs should accept they're stuck with Brown whether they like it or not. End of.

SAY CHEESE

6 Smiling for the cameras costs nothing but would make Brown look a lot more human.

The PM often appears awkward, irritated or miserable - and Grumpy Gordon terrifies the hell out of voters worried he knows something terrible is just around the corner.

Sharing in public a private humour would soften a harsh image.

Brown''s a serious man, a heavyweight politician admired around the world - and spinning him on a bike in a PR race against all-style-no-substance Cameron would be plain silly.

But a little natural warmth would thaw the electorate.

PLAY THE SARAH CARD

7 Sam Cam's too posh and Cherie Blair too pushy, but Sarah Brown is down to earth and the perfect consort.

The friendliness is genuine and she can identify with a mother juggling kids, hubby and work. The PM should never visit a school, hospital or housing estate without her at his side.

Unlike Cameron, he doesn't use kids John and Fraser as photo props which enhances the importance of Sarah.

She also sprinkles stardust on Labour with celebrity supporters like JK Rowling, David Tennant, Jo Brand, Lesley Garrett and Kathy Burke.

Another wave of Potter''s wand would do him a power of good.

SET THE DOGS ON "SIR" GEORGE OSBORNE

8 The Shadow Chancellor is the wounded wildebeest on the edge of the Tory herd - a boy trying to do a man's job, a gaffe-prone figure vulnerable to sustained attack.

The economy will be the major battlefield in the election and Osborne''s feebleness is all too apparent.

Every statement should be scrutinised with a group of MPs organised to target a Tory who reacts wildly under pressure.

The recession would be a slump if Osborne had his way and instead of boosting spending the Tories would have imposed mass sackings.

Chancellor Alistair Darling's recovered his reputation as a safe pair of eyebrows, while Boy George is stuck in economic short trousers like an absurd 18th century rake in the global economy.

GET SOME KIP

9 You could put the weekly shopping in the bags under Brown's eyes. Surviving on five or six hours' sleep is macho madness - just look what it did to Maggie Thatcher.

Weekend lie-ins shouldn't be the privilege of Old Etonian toffs.

Doing less means more if Brown focuses on five or six issues instead of trying to do everything himself.

Kick ministers up the backside and tell them to get their heads out of red boxes and start behaving like politicians.

GO ON THE BOX

10 Pick up the phone today and ring the BBC, ITV and Sky News. Book three live campaign ding-dongs with Cameron and that Lib Dem guy.

Insist on an hour at 8pm on Mondays.

Apologies to Corrie and EastEnders fans but this is a national emergency.

Request an undercard of ministers to argue about the economy, health, educatransport. Make sure have the energy to showcase Labour ideas and expose Tory shallowness.

If ability, experience and commitment count then Brown will shine against a pair of private schoolboys. Historic US-style TV debates in Britain are a no-brainer.

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FORGET Gordon Brown, there will only be one star of the Labour conference show - Peter Mandelson. Keep track of his antics on www.twitter.com by typing WeLuvMandy in the search box

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HEAVYWEIGHT Gordon Brown has fight on his hands