BRITAIN:Prime minister Gordon Brown has added to speculation about a snap election with his announcement that 1,000 troops could be home from Iraq by Christmas.
Mr Brown made the announcement yesterday during his first visit to Baghdad since replacing Tony Blair, prompting Conservative complaints that he was using the armed forces as a political football.
Mr Brown's heavily trailed move came on the eve of a make-or-break speech by Conservative party leader David Cameron at the Tory party conference in Blackpool. Mr Cameron is expected to prepare the faithful for a possible November poll with a speech marrying popular measures on tax, crime and Europe with his personal "vision" for Britain.
The Tory leader now appears resigned to the likelihood of an early election and insists that, backed with a £10 million (€14.4 million) war chest, he is eager and ready for the fray. Mr Cameron will be hoping for a post-conference bounce and this may yet stay Mr Brown's hand.
Polling experts believe if Labour's lead falls to about five or six points this weekend Mr Brown would be prudent to abandon plans to seek an early mandate. But Labour appears in a state of readiness amid reports that the unions have been asked to bring forward next year's affiliation fees - a move that would boost the party's coffers by £6 million.
Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox also appeared in little doubt about Mr Brown's intentions. Reacting to the planned troop reductions, he said: "a week ago [in Bournemouth] Gordon Brown gave only one minute in his 67-minute speech to the issues of Iraq, Afghanistan and our armed forces. But today he is happy to use the armed forces for a pre-election photo-opportunity. Most people will see this cynicism for what it is. Our troops should not be used as a political football."
Mr Cameron avoided the controversy, assuming the statesman's role and vowing he would "always put the national interest first". However, the Tory leader also appeared to reserve his position, adding: "in Iraq, if we are ready to withdraw troops, I will be delighted, and they [the government] will have my backing if they get that right."
With 5,500 troops remaining, Mr Brown said the UK proposed over the next few months "to move from a combat role to an overwatch role". Earlier, in his conference speech, Dr Fox attacked reported government plans to cut as many as 6,000 from what he said was an "already overstretched army", and Mr Brown's appointment of what he called "a part-time defence secretary" [who doubles as Secretary of State for Scotland] and "whose attentions are focused on fighting the SNP and the Taliban."
Criticising Mr Brown's Bournemouth speech, Dr Fox said the prime minister's 126 words about Iraq, Afghanistan and the armed forces amounted to "one word for every two servicemen and women" killed in both theatres.
"I hope you remember that when you are having your photo-opportunities in Iraq!" declared Dr Fox.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague, meanwhile, signalled the Tory leadership's intention to marry its demand for a referendum on the EU constitutional treaty to the wider issue of "trust" in politics. Mr Hague said Mr Brown's attempt to portray the treaty "as fundamentally different from the EU constitution" was "one of the most bare-faced and deliberate misrepresentations in the modern annals of deceit".
Mr Hague went on: "if trust in politics is to be restored . . . a Conservative government elected this autumn will hold a referendum on any EU treaty which emerges from the current negotiations." He added they would amend the 1972 European Communities Act to ensure that any further transfers of powers to Europe would be subject to referendum before they could ratified.