'Cynical' Brown accused of electioneering as he announces 1,000 troops home from Iraq by Christmas

Senior Conservatives led by David Cameron said the Prime Minister had broken a promise to tell Parliament first after he announced troop withdrawals on a surprise visit to Baghdad.

And, in an scathing attack on spin, Sir John Major claimed Mr Brown was using 'nods, winks and cynicism' about an election to destabilise the Opposition. 'It may well backfire,' he warned.

Sir John also challenged him to tell the families of those killed in Iraq since 2003 why he was taking decisions on Iraq without telling the Army or Parliament.

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Last night there was fury among relatives of those who died, who called Mr Brown a 'disgrace' for using the military as a 'pawn in his election strategy'.

Mr Brown's '1,000 troops home by Christmas' pledge came 24 hours after the Tories unveiled eyegrabbing policies to scrap inheritance tax and stamp duty for millions, fuelling suspicions of a stunt to knock them off the headlines.

Mr Cameron will today use his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool to single out the 'cynicism' of Mr Brown.

Whitehall is on alert for an election announcement early next week with growing suspicions that Mr Brown is ready to use the Treasury's spending review - as early as Monday - to lay out some tax and spend sweeteners for the voters before a poll on November 1 or 8.

But Mr Brown faced embarrassment after the Ministry of Defence cast doubts on his boast that 1,000 British soldiers will be pulled out of Basra by Christmas.

It emerged that half of those were already due to come home under an announcement made last month, and 270 of them were already back in Britain.

Sir John Major told BBC News 24: 'What is pretty unattractive is the nods, the winks, the hints, the cynicism, the belief that every decision is being taken because it is marching to the drum beat of an election rather than to the drumbeat of solid proper government.'

Mr Cameron welcomed the prospect of troop withdrawals but added: 'He ought to make these announcements in Parliament.'

Feverish election preparations behind the scenes have seen Labour book venues for a campaign launch and fast-track candidates. Government departments in turn have brought forward announcements that have to be made before Parliament is dissolved.

Trade union leaders are understood to be ready to make party affiliation fees, not due to be paid to Labour until next year ,available now, raising about £6million.

Labour treasurer Jack Dromey says he is 'confident of our capacity to be ready' for an election.

But the Tory onslaught on Mr Brown appeared to cast doubts in Labour minds.

Private polling in key Labour marginals has failed to identify clear signs of a 'Brown bounce'.

The Labour leader and his allies will meet this weekend to decide whether to gamble on a poll.

Mr Brown, who does not have to call an election until 2010, must be confident that he would significantly improve on Labour's 64-seat majority. If he held a snap poll and slipped back, it would be seen as a humiliation.

His advisers are awaiting the effect of today's speech by Mr Cameron on voters.

Party strategists are expecting some improvement in Tory fortunes but are urging the Prime Minister to go for it unless there has been a dramatic closing of the opinion poll gap, which has stood as high as 11 points in some surveys.

Mr Cameron will use what aides promised would be a 'passionate and personal' speech to denounce Mr Brown's 'cynicism'.

Declaring himself an optimist, he will promise voters more power over their lives and a stronger society-Yesterday Dr Liam Fox, the Tory defence spokesman, said Mr Brown had devoted only 126 words of his 65-minute leader's speech in Bournemouth last week to the Armed Forces, Afghanistan and Iraq.

This was 'one word for every two servicemen or women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan', he said.

John Miller, whose military policeman son Simon was killed at Al Majarr Al Kabir in 2003, said: 'Gordon Brown is an absolute disgrace.

'Using the military as a pawn in his election strategy is sickening.'

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