Brown in firing line after ruling out snap poll

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown faced taunts Sunday he was a "bottler" forced into a "humiliating retreat". "I'll not be calling an election," Brown told BBC television, while his spokesman confirmed there would be no poll this autumn, namely within the next couple of months. Brown in firing line after ruling out snap poll Brown's move immediately drew derision from the opposition Conservatives leader David Cameron and the press, who said he pulled back at the last minute in the face of a surprise Conservative resurgence. The premier had led a revival of the Labour Party's fortunes after taking over from Tony Blair in June, with a string of opinion polls placing him up to 11 percentage points ahead of the Conservatives, or Tories. But a spirited unscripted speech by Cameron at his party's annual conference Wednesday, plus Tory pledges on tax cuts and criticism of Brown over an Iraq troop withdrawal announcement last week, hit his poll popularity in recent days and apparently prompted him to blink. "Brown Bottles It" read the headline on the right-wing Mail on Sunday newspaper. "Bottling it" is slang for losing your nerve at the last minute. Cameron taunted Brown, saying his authority had been damaged by the decision not to go to the polls. "I think the prime minister has shown great weakness and indecision. It's quite clear he's not been focused on running the country these last few months," he said. "He's been trying to spin his way into a general election campaign and now he's had to make a humiliating retreat." The News of the World weekly tabloid, which carried a poll showing support for Brown had dropped, echoed Cameron's words, saying Brown's decision had "lost him authority among his own MPs" and that he was now "on notice". "(Labour's) lead has now been spectacularly lost. And we all know what happens when they (lawmakers) have their backs to the wall. They turn on their leader," the right-wing paper warned in its editorial. Brown explained his decision by saying that, faced with a series of crises including foiled suspected terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow since he took over, he had not yet had sufficient time to develop a policy direction. "What I want to do is show people the vision that we have for the future of this country," he told BBC television. "I want the chance, in the next phase of my premiership, to develop and show people the policies that are going to make a huge difference and show the change in the country itself." Journalist Andrew Marr, who interviewed Brown, said Brown had in effect ruled out a general election this year or next. The full interview will be shown on British television Sunday at 0800 GMT. New polls Sunday showed the Conservatives ahead -- an ICM poll for the News of the World suggested Brown's governing Labour Party was six points behind the Conservatives in 83 key marginal seats. If the results were replicated at an election now, 49 Labour lawmakers, including senior ministers such as Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, would lose their seats and no party would have an overall majority in parliament. A Sunday Times/YouGov poll gave the Conservatives a three-point lead --a jump of nine points in the last week - while a BPIX/Mail on Sunday poll put the Conservatives one point ahead. Speculation that Brown would call an early election reached fever pitch during the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, southern England, last month. In a BBC interview then, Brown declined to rule out a poll outright, while a series of ministers seen as being close to him also fuelled the speculation. Rumours of an early vote were stoked further Friday after Brown said he will update parliament on British troop levels in southern Iraq on Monday and a key statement on planned government spending was brought forward to Tuesday. Political commentators interpreted that as a sign of Brown wanting to clear the decks before asking Queen Elizabeth II to dissolve parliament on Tuesday in time for the widely-touted polling day of November 1. But after meeting with advisors at his Downing Street office Saturday, Brown decided not to risk becoming Britain's shortest serving prime minister since 1827 by calling a November poll.

Brown in firing line after ruling out snap poll

Brown's move immediately drew derision from the opposition Conservatives leader David Cameron and the press, who said he pulled back at the last minute in the face of a surprise Conservative resurgence.

The premier had led a revival of the Labour Party's fortunes after taking over from Tony Blair in June, with a string of opinion polls placing him up to 11 percentage points ahead of the Conservatives, or Tories.

But a spirited unscripted speech by Cameron at his party's annual conference Wednesday, plus Tory pledges on tax cuts and criticism of Brown over an Iraq troop withdrawal announcement last week, hit his poll popularity in recent days and apparently prompted him to blink.

"Brown Bottles It" read the headline on the right-wing Mail on Sunday newspaper. "Bottling it" is slang for losing your nerve at the last minute.

Cameron taunted Brown, saying his authority had been damaged by the decision not to go to the polls.

"I think the prime minister has shown great weakness and indecision. It's quite clear he's not been focused on running the country these last few months," he said.

"He's been trying to spin his way into a general election campaign and now he's had to make a humiliating retreat."

The News of the World weekly tabloid, which carried a poll showing support for Brown had dropped, echoed Cameron's words, saying Brown's decision had "lost him authority among his own MPs" and that he was now "on notice".

"(Labour's) lead has now been spectacularly lost. And we all know what happens when they (lawmakers) have their backs to the wall. They turn on their leader," the right-wing paper warned in its editorial.

Brown explained his decision by saying that, faced with a series of crises including foiled suspected terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow since he took over, he had not yet had sufficient time to develop a policy direction.

"What I want to do is show people the vision that we have for the future of this country," he told BBC television.

"I want the chance, in the next phase of my premiership, to develop and show people the policies that are going to make a huge difference and show the change in the country itself."

Journalist Andrew Marr, who interviewed Brown, said Brown had in effect ruled out a general election this year or next. The full interview will be shown on British television Sunday at 0800 GMT.

New polls Sunday showed the Conservatives ahead -- an ICM poll for the News of the World suggested Brown's governing Labour Party was six points behind the Conservatives in 83 key marginal seats.

If the results were replicated at an election now, 49 Labour lawmakers, including senior ministers such as Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, would lose their seats and no party would have an overall majority in parliament.

A Sunday Times/YouGov poll gave the Conservatives a three-point lead --a jump of nine points in the last week - while a BPIX/Mail on Sunday poll put the Conservatives one point ahead.

Speculation that Brown would call an early election reached fever pitch during the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, southern England, last month.

In a BBC interview then, Brown declined to rule out a poll outright, while a series of ministers seen as being close to him also fuelled the speculation.

Rumours of an early vote were stoked further Friday after Brown said he will update parliament on British troop levels in southern Iraq on Monday and a key statement on planned government spending was brought forward to Tuesday.

Political commentators interpreted that as a sign of Brown wanting to clear the decks before asking Queen Elizabeth II to dissolve parliament on Tuesday in time for the widely-touted polling day of November 1.

But after meeting with advisors at his Downing Street office Saturday, Brown decided not to risk becoming Britain's shortest serving prime minister since 1827 by calling a November poll.