









Hah! at no 10 at last and not before time , Blair's well and truly out of the way , now it's all mine , Hurray !!!! Now what can I do to distract from this pension business , I Know? I'll get my Darling to alter some more Tax anomalies , No VAT on food and Children's clothes we'll soon change that ! The views on this page may not reflect Gordon's , all BBC links are listed and used as fair use , the source of the quoted material is mentioned, along with the name of the author
Mr Brown told the Commons MPs would be given the chance next year to debate ratification of the treaty whose text was agreed in Portugal last week.
He also said the government would oppose further EU institutional change.
The Tories called for a referendum on the issue and accused ministers of breaking their manifesto commitment.
See BBC link for details
The clash came with the PM facing claims he "bottled" a snap election and stole Tory policy ideas on tax.
Mr Cameron said the PM was treating people "like fools" by denying opinion polls led him to reject a snap poll.
But Mr Brown pointed to the Tory grammar school row and said he would take "no lectures" from Mr Cameron.
BBC here
He also targeted private equity bosses and "non-domiciles" in his pre-Budget report - and pledged to switch green air taxes to flights, not passengers.
But he was accused by the Tories - who unveiled policies in all these areas last week - of being in a "panic" after their recent opinion poll surge.
see this link for more BBCPressed at his No 10 media briefing, he said he had considered an election but his "first instinct" had been to have more time to set out his vision.
He also denied "dithering", saying he always planned to make his decision at the end of the party conference season.
David Cameron has accused Mr Brown of "not being straight with the public".
And Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell has called the episode "deeply damaging".
As he seeks to regain the political initiative, Mr Brown is currently making a Commons statement on Iraq.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7033084.stmThe prime minister's decision sparked claims he had reverted to spin and put his party before the country.
He is expected to mount his fightback at the monthly Downing Street press conference.
Mr Brown will also go before the House of Commons to make a long-awaited statement on Iraq.
He is expected to set out a "comprehensive" vision of his policy in the country.
Shadow chancellor George Osborne challenged him not to "bottle it".
There has been increasing speculation that the prime minister will call a November election early next week.
Three opinion polls suggest Labour's lead over the Tories has fallen sharply in the past week - two put Labour ahead but one has them level with the Tories.
Mr Osborne said: "Either we have this election - which the current opinion polls and the state of the Conservative Party suggest we've got a good chance of winning - or he bottles it.
"That is a pretty extraordinary position for a prime minister to be in after just a few months."
See the BBC fro the full story at this link
Some 40% of those questioned would vote Labour in any general election, down from 44% in a similar survey last week.
The Tories were up three points at 36%, while the Lib Dems were static on 13%.
See the story at this link