Brown defends election decision
Gordon Brown has insisted that his decision to rule out a snap election is down to him wanting time to develop his policies.
The prime minister’s claim is in stark contrast to the reaction his decision has been greeted by, with the media accusing him of ‘bottling’ the calling of a general election.
Opposition leaders have responded in a similar fashion. Conservative party leader David Cameron accused Mr Brown of “weakness and indecision”, while Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the prime minister had “lost his nerve”.
But undeterred, Mr Brown maintained in an interview with BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show that he wanted time to unveil his “vision for change in Britain”.
“I want to show people how in government we are implementing it,” he continued. “Over the summer months we have had to deal with crises.
“We have had to deal with foot and mouth, terrorism, floods, the financial crisis. And yes we could have had an election on competence and I hope people would have understood that we have acted competently.
“But what I want to do is show people the vision that we have for the future of this country: in housing, health, education. And I want the chance in the next phase of my premiership to develop and show people the policies that will make a huge difference and show the change in the country itself.”
In further reaction to the prime minister’s decision, Mr Cameron said he had been forced into a “humiliating retreat”.
“The reason the prime minister has cancelled this election is because the Conservative party is making the arguments about the changes this country needs and people are responding very positively to our proposals.”
And Lib Dem leader Mr Campbell added: “The prime minister has belatedly put an end to the charade of last few weeks.
“He could have prevented needless speculation by making this announcement long before now.
“Gordon Brown has been acting in the interests of the Labour party and not in the interests of the country.”
