PM faces calls for autumn election
Gordon Brown faces mounting public demand to call a general election as he continues attempts to defuse the Westminster expenses scandal with promises of wide-ranging constitutional reforms.
The Prime Minister said they would include a binding code of conduct for MPs as he battled to rescue Labour from electoral meltdown amid a continuing slew of embarrassing new revelations.
But 42% of voters in the latest opinion poll said they wanted him to go to the country by the autumn and - 18% demanded a general election within weeks.
Mr Brown has dismissed Tory leader David Cameron's demands for a snap poll, saying: "What's the point in electing a new parliament if you haven't got plans to clean up the system?"
Mr Brown will face the TV cameras in a bid to plug his reform agenda amid speculation of a leadership challenge against him if Labour suffers the mauling senior party figures anticipate in Thursday's Euro elections.
He vowed to fight on as he outlined plans to "clean up" politics with a Constitutional Reform Bill targeted not only at the Westminster expenses system but in opening all public services to greater scrutiny.
"We need an open, transparent democracy where all these things are above board. And if I may say so, it doesn't just affect the House of Commons, it affects the House of Lords and it may affect all public institutions that receive taxpayers' money," Mr Brown told the BBC.
But Mr Cameron said it was clear voters wanted a say. "The public...want to be part of the picture, they want to sit in judgment on MPs, they want to elect a new Parliament that will set the new rules, that will elect a new Speaker, that will make a new start."
The latest opinion poll, by YouGov for the Telegraph, found two thirds of voters agreed there was "nothing fundamentally wrong with Britain's constitution providing that MPs are honest and competent".
Asked how they would vote on Thursday, Labour scored 17% - the slimmest of leads over Ukip (16%) and the Liberal Democrats 15%. The Tories were on 27%.
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