Week... a long time?

The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday 07 October 2007

Please note "The Andrew Marr Show" must be credited if any part of this transcript is used.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP

On Sunday 07 October Andrew Marr interviewed The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown MP.

In an exclusive interview, Andrew spoke to the Prime Minister who said that a general election is "very unlikely" to be called in the next year.

Gordon Brown insisted he had not been scared off a snap election by new opinion polls giving the Conservatives enough of a lead to wipe out Labour's Commons majority.

He had a public duty to consider demands for him to go to the country early, he insisted, but had decided it was better to give voters time to see his long-term "vision" in action.

Pressed on whether he was ruling out a vote "for a long time to come", he said: "I think it's very unlikely that this will happen in the next period".

Power with responsibility

Mr Brown told Andrew: "When you are Prime Minister and you have the power to make this decision, people come to you and say 'you must consider it' and you've got to consider it because you have to exercise power with responsibility."

He said he could have called an election based on his "competence" at dealing with a string of crises over the summer - and which had helped push him to a massive poll lead.

"But what I want to do is show people the vision that we have for the future of this country in housing and health and education and 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," he said.

The Prime Minister insisted that Labour was "relishing" the chance of taking on the Tories over the tax policies announced at their party conference which helped spark their own resurgence.

David Cameron MP, Leader of the Conservative Party

Election call 'bottled'?

Andrew also interviewed the Conservative leader David Cameron who accused the Prime Minister of "treating the British people like fools".

"Watching that interview, I think people sitting at home will think 'he's just not being straight with me'.

Mr Cameron continued, "Everybody knows he wanted to have an election and he is now saying 'I am not having an election because I want to make my changes'.

"But everybody knows he is not having an election because he thinks there is a chance of losing it'.

The Tory leader insisted he had been "utterly consistent" about demanding the Prime Minister submit himself to the electorate "whether we have been up in the polls or down in the polls" and was genuinely disappointed at Mr Brown's decision.

"I wanted an election from the moment he walked into Downing Street because I don't believe he has a mandate and I want to take our arguments to the British people".

Mr Cameron said "I really believe people want change and I believe we are setting out the changes they want to see. We have plenty of ideas to come."

He defended his party's plans to pay for cuts in inheritance tax and stamp duty by levying a £25,000 fee on non-domiciled taxpayers.

"We are absolutely certain we can raise the revenue necessary for the cut in inheritance tax... so people who have worked hard and saved hard and want to pass their home to their children rather than to the taxman won't have to pay death duties," he said.

School attack confirmed

Mr Cameron stood by a story he told about a disruptive pupil attacking a teacher today amid claims from school governors that it never happened.

The Tory leader recounted the tale in his speech to his party's conference last week in a bid to highlight the need to give head teachers more powers to enforce discipline.

Mr Cameron was questioned by Andrew and he insisted: "Well it did happen.

"I was standing in a corridor outside the examination room; I spoke to this boy; I spoke to someone who had taught at this school afterwards; and what I said to the conference is absolutely how it happened."

Liberal view

Although the latest opinion polls suggest the Liberal Democrats are struggling, the party's president, Simon Hughes, told Andrew that he doesn't believe a change of leader is the answer.

He defended Sir Menzies Campbell's leadership: "The only criticism ever made was that you couldn't have a party leader who was of a certain age, and Ming addressed that head on in the conference so you have a leader with experience, internationally and nationally, and the party has chosen him for a fixed term, and for the next election whenever that is."

Mr Hughes was critical of the prime Minister's decision not to call an election soon.

"We have had a Prime Minister who has clearly in the end made a party political decision in the interests of the party".

He continued, "We were ready for an election, we believe we would do well in an election, we expected to win seats in the election from the Tories and from Labour".

Political satire

Andrew also spoke to the bestselling thriller writer Robert Harris whose latest work of fiction evokes an imaginary former British Prime Minister and his wife.

Many critics have suggested that the novel is a thinly-veiled depiction of Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie.

Newspapers reviewed by Polly Toynbee and Matthew d'Ancona

Robert Harris told Andrew that the book is a 'satire' which brings Tony Blair to mind.

The papers were reviewed by the Guardian columnist, Polly Toynbee and the Editor of The Spectator, Matthew D'Ancona, as well as the crime writer Minette Walters.

The Andrew Marr Show returns at 09.00am on BBC One on Sunday 14 October 2007.