Labour will offer a "new bargain" to the people of Britain to end the "fast buck" culture of the last 30 years and reshape society so that hard work and responsibility are rewarded, the party's leader Ed Miliband has promised.

In his keynote speech to Labour's conference in Liverpool, Mr Miliband said he wanted to become Prime Minister so he could "write a new chapter in our country's history".

Launching a scathing attack on "unjustified rewards" at the top of companies, asset-stripping "predators" in business and bankers who profited even as their mistakes caused economic meltdown, Mr Miliband said that a Labour government would use tax breaks, regulation and contracts to reward firms which contribute to their community.

And he said he was determined to reform the welfare system to ensure that it pays to work, to end "cosy cartels" which set top pay, break up the "rigged market" which allows energy companies to charge high prices and rebalance Britain's economy away from the reliance on financial services and towards production and manufacturing.

Against the backdrop of opinion polls suggesting voters do not see him as a potential prime minister, Mr Miliband sought to shake off the legacy of the last two Labour leaders to hold power, telling the conference: "I'm not Tony Blair. I'm not Gordon Brown either... I'm my own man and I'm going to do things my own way."

And he declared that he was ready to take risks to break away from the "something for nothing" culture which has taken root in Britain over the past three decades and created a "quiet crisis" where those who do the right thing no longer believe they will be rewarded for it.

After the banking crash, MPs' expenses scandal, phone-hacking and the summer riots in England's cities, it was now a once-in-a-generation "moment when we need to change the way we do things", he said.

The "fill-your-boots" approach of bankers and high finance, the "something for nothing" promises of celebrity culture and the "take-what-you-can" mentality of inner-city gangs do not represent the true values of the British people, said Mr Miliband.

"It will be a tough fight to change Britain," he said. "But I'm up for the fight: The fight for a new bargain.

"A new bargain in our economy so reward is linked to effort; A new bargain based on your values so we can pay our way in the world; A new bargain to ensure responsibility from top to bottom.

"And a new bargain to break open the closed circles, and break up vested interests, that hold our country back.

"I aspire to be your Prime Minister not for more of the same, but to write a new chapter in our country's history.

"The promise of Britain lies in its people. The tragedy of Britain is that it is not being met. My mission, our mission, is to fulfil the promise of each so we fulfil the promise of Britain."

Mr Miliband accepted that Labour had "lost trust on the economy" while in power and insisted he was determined to win public confidence back by showing the party would "live within its means" and ensure every pound is spent wisely if it returns to power.

He acknowledged he would not be able to reverse every cut being imposed by the coalition Government. And he pledged that, if the deficit was not eliminated by the time of the 2015 election, Labour would deal with it.

Mr Miliband said he was "proud" of Labour's record in office and described Mr Blair and Mr Brown as "great men, who in their different ways, achieved great things".

But he acknowledged that the Blair and Brown administrations did not change the fundamental economic settlement put in place by Margaret Thatcher after 1979.

"Good times did not mean we had a good economic system. We changed the fabric of our country but we did not do enough to change the values of our economy," he said.

And he told delegates: "You believe rewards should be for hard work. But you've been told we have to tolerate the wealthiest taking what they can ...

"For too long you have been told that the only way our economy can succeed is if we reward not your values, but a totally different set of values.

"Trickle-down economics. The triumph of finance over industry. The victory of vested interests over the public interest."

He contrasted RBS banker Sir Fred Goodwin, who was knighted by Mr Blair, with the former chief executive of Rolls-Royce, Sir John Rose, who he described as "a great British business leader, creating wealth and keeping jobs in this country".

He added: "I tell you something, Fred Goodwin shouldn't have got that salary. And I tell you something else: We shouldn't have given Sir Fred Goodwin that knighthood either."