THE British Prime Minister, Mr Major, dismissed speculation yesterday of an early general election following the decision of another Tory backbencher to resign the party whip, reducing the government's majority to just two.
Mr Major admitted he was "surprised" by Mr Peter Thurnham's decision to resign the party whip over the government's handling of the Scott, report, but insisted he expected to remain in office for the full term.
"I have always expected to go through to the spring of 1997 and I still expect to go through to the spring of 1997," he said.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Michael Heseltine, also stressed that he would personally advise Mr Major against an early election and that he was confident the government would survive Monday's debate on the Scott report.
Although Tory officials attempted to play down the decision by Mr Thurnham, MP for Bolton North East, to resign the whip, it is yet another indication of the increasing divisions within the party. Mr Thurnham is the third Tory MP to leave in the last six months and the government's majority could drop to one if it loses the forthcoming Staffordshire South East by election.
Clearly angered by the party's claim that he had resigned simply because he had failed to secure a safe seat for the next election, Mr Thurnham launched a scathing attack on the government, denouncing its "malpractices" and "bad bungling."
Mr Thurnham, who will now sit as an independent MP, said he had decided to resign the whip because of the "appalling revelations" in the Scott report.
"Yet nobody seems to be accepting responsibility for the appalling revelations here. I have been increasingly unhappy about a number of matters, about malpractices within the party itself. I was deeply disturbed by the Nolan report, and now the Scott report is the final straw," he added.
The Labour Party leader, Mr Tony Blair, refused to comment upon Mr Thurnham's decision but predicted that there would now be an autumn general election.
Despite Conservative Central Office's attempt at damage limitation, another Tory backbencher echoed Mr Blair's views. Sir Teddy Taylor, a leading Eurosceptic, agreed that Mr Thurnham's defection made "life very difficult" for the government.
"I think that with a majority of two, it would be difficult to go the full term, think there should be an election in mid October. People should start to think of what kind of government they would like to see running Britain, in October," he said.
Several other Tory backbenchers are also known to be unhappy with the government's handling of the Scott report and at least three have privately hinted that they might abstain or vote against the government. Mr Rupert Allason, Tory MP for Torbay, also publicly signalled that he might rebel if the government does not produce a "shopping list" of changes following the report.
"There are some astonishing revelations and it's only right we should have had 10 or 11 days to read the report, listen to what the government has to say on Monday and, if were dissatisfied, then in my judgment, the job of an MP is to express that dismay," he said.
It appears Mr Major will be forced to rely upon the support of the Ulster Unionists to survive a Commons defeat and thereafter until the next election. The three Democratic Unionist Party MPs stated yesterday that they would not be voting.