Fixed term Parliament: We've heard it all before
FUTURE prime ministers will be stripped of their freedom to set the election date with the introduction of fixed-term parliaments, Gordon Brown pledged yesterday.
But the Tories said he was “recycling’’ Labour promises dating back to 1997 which they hadn’t delivered.
Mr Brown also offered a referendum on moving to proportional representation voting and on creating an elected House of Lords.
And he said Labour would give Parliament a free vote on cutting the minimum voting age from 18 to 16. It was all seen as a bid to lure the Liberal Democrats into backing Labour in a hung Parliament.
The PM also suggested he would be tougher on crooked MPs. He promised voters could, by petition, recall misbehaving MPs.
Tory justice spokesman Dominic Grieve said: “All he can offer is partisan meddling with the electoral system and votes for teenagers. To get new politics we need a new government.’’