Brown urged to call snap election

The Tory leader insisted Mr Brown had no mandate to become prime minister on Wednesday and urged him to go to the country right away.

The move came after the new Labour leader put his party on alert for a snap poll, instructing a key ally to be ready to run an election campaign at a moment's notice.

But Mr Brown was accused on Monday of retreating from any suggestion that the election would come any earlier than 2009 - as had already been expected. Mr Cameron said he was ready for an immediate election.

"If Gordon Brown is serious about wanting to listen to the people of this country then he should call a general election right now," he told London's Evening Standard newspaper.

"Tony Blair said that he would serve a full term but hasn't. Gordon Brown has no mandate to be prime minister and he cannot be the change the country needs. People want real change and the next general election can't come soon enough so that they have an opportunity to vote for it."

Mr Brown sparked speculation by ordering Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander to get Labour ready for an election whenever he decided to call it. The surprise move came despite Mr Brown previously letting slip that he expected to call the next General Election in 2009.

Some Labour MPs even suggested that a vote at the end of next month could be possible if private polling reveals sufficient evidence of a "Brown Bounce".

But there were reports on Monday that Mr Brown still intended to hold the election in two years' time, prompting Tory accusations that his preparations were in "chaos".

Shadow Cabinet minister Chris Grayling said: "First they claimed that they were planning for a snap election - but within a few hours they had changed their mind and were saying it would take two years to get ready. Coming after last week's shambolic start to Gordon Brown's first reshuffle, this really doesn't augur well for his ability to run the country effectively."