Britain faces an “hour of reckoning” and could “sink” if it makes the wrong decisions, David Cameron will warn in Birmingham today.

The Prime Minister will insist his party stands for “doers” and young people who dream of receiving their first pay cheque or owning their first home.

But he will also deliver a dire warning about the potential “decline” Britain faces if it fails to tackle its financial problems.

And he will accuse Labour of putting the country at risk planning “more spending and more borrowing”.

Mr Cameron will tell delegates gathered at the ICC: “I honestly think Labour haven’t learned a single thing.”

The speech marks the climax of the Tory conference in Birmingham.

Mr Cameron will tell pay tribute to West Midlands athlete Ellie Simmonds, from Aldridge - and tell activists that the Paralympics has changed attitudes towards disabled people for the better.

He will say: “My best moment was putting that gold medal around the neck of Ellie Simmonds.

“And I am so grateful for what all those Paralympians did.”

Recalling his own disabled son Ivan, who died aged six in 2009, he will say: “When I used to push my son Ivan around in his wheelchair, I always thought that some people saw the wheelchair, not the boy.

“Today, more people would see the boy - and that’s because of what happened here this summer.”

Mr Cameron will defend some of the tough decisions taken by his party to control spending, saying: “Unless we act, unless we take difficult and painful decisions, unless we show determination and imagination, Britain may not be in the future what it has been in the past.

“Because the truth is this. We are in a global race today and that means an hour of reckoning for countries like ours. Sink or swim - do or decline.”

He will argue that Britain has low interest rates “because we set out a tough plan to cut spending and live within our means.”

But higher interest rates would damage the economy, he will say. And Mr Cameron will accuse Labour of planning to increase borrowing, saying: “Labour’s plan to borrow more is actually a massive gamble with our economy and our future.”

In what may be seen as an attempt to confront Labour claims that his privileged upbringing means he doesn’t ordinary people, the Prime Minister will highlight the influence his own father had on him.

Mr Cameron’s father was disabled, and eventually lost both his legs. The Prime Minister will describe him “working hard from the moment he left school and providing a good start in life for his family.”

And he will set out his own values, saying: “There is nothing complicated about me. I believe in in working hard, caring for my family and serving my country.”