In his final conference address as Labour leader, Tony Blair has paid tribute to his "remarkable" chancellor.

But the prime minister stopped short of endorsing him as his successor, and instead urged his party to focus on renewing its policies while remaining firmly on the political centre ground.

He told the Manchester conference he would stay in power for a few more months to see through key reforms.

And he said that after recent rows he wanted to help "heal" Labour's rifts.

"The truth is you can't go on forever. That is why it is right that this is my last conference as leader," he said.

"Of course it is hard to let go, but it is also right to let go, for the country and for you, the party."

Entering the hall, both the prime minister and Cherie Blair received warm and sustained applause from delegates.

Blair began his address with a string of thanks to those who had helped him over the years.

"Thank you the Labour Party for giving me the the extraordinary privilege of leading you these past 12 years," he said

Blair paid tribute to deputy leader John Prescott for helping him win over the party's grassroots.

"And something I don't say often enough - thank you to my family," he added, singling out Cherie. "At least I don't have to worry about her running off with the bloke next door."

There appeared to be another gentle swipe at Gordon Brown when he said that politics was about "being a fully paid up member of the human race".

It appeared to be a response to the chancellor's statement on Monday that politics should be about service rather than "spectacle".

There was also sharp criticism of ministers who have resigned their posts and then attacked the government from the backbenches.

He pointed to left-winger Dennis Skinner as someone who knows "the difference between a Labour government and a Tory one".

Blair added: "People like Janet Anderson, George Howarth, Mike Hall. Good ministers, but I asked them to make way. They did, Without a word of bitterness.

"They never forget their principles when in office, and they never discovered them when they left office."

Blair said it had been an "honour" to be prime minister.

And he concluded: "I don't want to be the Labour leader who won three successive elections, I want to be the first Labour leader to win three successive elections, so it's up to you.

"You take my advice, you don't take it - your choice.

"Whatever you do I'm always with you, head and heart.

"You have given me all I ever achieved and all that we have achieved together for the country.

"Next year, I won't be making this speech but in the years to come, wherever I am, whatever I do, I am with you, wishing you well, wanting you to win.

"You are the future now. Make the most of it."

Blair also said it was right that he steps down as prime minister, despite having been forced to set a timetable he had previously fought against.

In what may have been an acknowledgement that he had tried too hard to stay in power, he said it was "hard to let go".

"The truth is you can't go on forever. That is why it is right that this is my last conference as leader," he said.

"Of course it is hard to let go, but it is also right to let go, for the country and for you, the party.

"Over the coming months I will take through the changes I have worked on so hard these past years and I will help build a unified party with a strong platform for the only legacy that has ever mattered to me - a fourth term election victory that allows us to keep changing Britain for the better.

"And I want to heal. There has been a lot of talk of lies and truths these past few weeks.

"In no relationship at the top in any walk of life is it always easy, least of all in politics which matter so much and which is conducted in such a piercing spotlight.

"But I know New Labour would never have happened, and three election victories would never have been secured, without Gordon Brown.

"He is a remarkable man, a remarkable servant to this country and that is the truth.

"So now, 10 years on, this party faces the real test of leadership: Not about what we have achieved in the past but what we can achieve in the future.

"Not just how do we win again, but how does Britain carry on winning."