Lib Dems attack Brown decision

Last Modified: 07 Oct 2007
By: Channel 4 News

The Liberal Democrats want to strip the Government's power to set the timing of a general election.

A legal bid is being launched by Liberal Democrats according to leader Sir Menzies Campbell, following Gordon Brown's decision not to hold a snap election this autumn.

Two of the senior Lib Dem MPs will table a bill in the House of Commons tomorrow, which would fix Parliamentary terms at four years. It would set the election date as the first Thursday in May every four years and outlaw the dissolution of Parliament between polls. This would make the next poll 7 May 2009.

Conservative leader David Cameron said there were "real drawbacks" to such a system, but said the party would consider them. "There will be times when an election is appropriate. When you have a Prime Minister who says I'm going to serve a full third term and then doesn't, I think it is appropriate to hold an election because people have voted for one thing and now got something completely different," he said.

Mr Cameron has also accused Gordon Brown of treating the British public as "fools". The Tories are amid a resurgence following a rousing party conference speech and will now have to wait a lot longer to have a shot at power.

The Fixed Term Parliaments Bill will be tabled by front bench spokesmen David Howarth and David Heath when the Commons returns from its summer recess tomorrow.

Mr Howarth said: "The Liberal Democrats have for a long time argued that Parliament should be on the basis of fixed terms like most other modern democratic countries.

"It's quite wrong that the Prime Minister of the day should be able to fiddle the dates of the election for short-term political advantage."