Fixed term parliaments the only answer for Brown's tawdry behaviour

AN increasing number of people I speak to were so appalled at the disgraceful attempt by Gordon Brown to manipulate our unwritten constitution by considering an unnecessary General Election that they are backing my long held belief that we should have fixed term parliaments.

I see no logical objection. All democracies decree a maximum time a party can remain in office before it has to call an election. Most quantify a fixed term after which an election must be held.

All other directly elected bodies in the UK have fixed terms, usually for four years. County and district councils, the Scottish parliament, and the Greater London, Northern Irish and Welsh assemblies have elections every four years. The European parliament is elected every five years.

Why not Westminster? There can be a provision written into law which says an election must be held early if the governing party loses a vote of confidence in the Commons or majority through by-election defeats.

Gordon Brown acted disgracefully in pumping up the volume and giving the impression that he would hold an election next month. Such a poll was completely unnecessary because Labour had a majority of 69 - more, if you take into account the support of the SDLP in Northern Ireland and the non appearance of Sinn Fein. Britain is not presidential. We vote for a party not a prime minister and as long as that party has a comfortable majority, an election is unnecessary if it changes leader.

Brown's contempt for the British people was for purely Labour party and his own personal advantages. Neil Kinnock gave the game away. When it looked as if an election was to be called, Lord Kinnock - remember it was he who lead Labour to two election defeats - told a Labour conference fringe meetings that he wanted Brown to "grind the bastards down." What a charming man he is. He may have been honest is speaking publicly the way he does in private, but to generically describe the Tories as "bastards" goes way beyond the political rhetoric we are used to in the UK.

Britain has never had such a manipulative, partisan Prime Minister as we have in Gordon Brown. He will be a ruthless control freak, taking out revenge on the British people for the way Tony Blair ratted on a deal thrashed out on the death of John Smith.

He bottled out of his shabby election. He would have won it, because the Tories have been vanquished from much of northern England and Scotland. But whever the election is held, his playing with the electorate this past three weeks or so won't be forgotten. A Tory revival may mean  this current parliament drags on to May 2010 as Gordon Brown tries to avoid a date with destiny should the economy go pear shaped.