THE DEPUTY Prime Minister, Mr Michael Heseltine, predicted yesterday that voters would use the Wirral South by election "to kick the government", prompting speculation that the Tories may stop the contest by announcing an early general election.
Just hours before the British government finally moved the writ, on the very last possible day, to allow the by election to take place on February 27th, Mr Heseltine refused to state whether a March general election was now more likely.
"It is an option. There are about a hundred options between now and the end of the time ... There are a lot of people around who see by elections as an opportunity to kick the government and we would expect to see that," he said.
Tory party strategists have suggested that if the polls predict a devastating defeat in the by election, which will be the last this parliament, then the Prime Minister, Mr Major, is entitled to stop the contest by announcing a snap general election on March 20th.
However Mr Major has made no secret that May 1st is his chosen date and he may prefer to allow the by election to proceed in the hope that the electorate would have forgotten a bad Tory defeat, by the spring.
The deputy Labour leader, Mr John Prescott, said the halting of the by election would be an "outrage" and claimed the Tory campaign was already "in utter disarray" as they appeared to be conceding defeat.
"We have entertained the thought and according to the press, it is in the minds of some of the Tory ministers as well, that they might take the opportunity if they think they are going to lose here to call the general election before it takes place.
"If they were to do that, it will be an admittance of failure and loss. But I must say Mr Heseltine's statement seems to have conceded that before the date was even announced," he said.
To the Labour Party's amusement, while Mr Heseltine was admitting his fears of defeat, the Health Secretary, Mr Stephen Dorrell, insisted he was "absolutely certain" the Tories would win the by election, as he launched their campaign in Merseyside.
When informed of Mr Heseltine's conflicting view, Mr Dorrell curtly stated he always thought it was better to concentrate on wining elections rather that speculating on the outcome.
"I always think that during an election campaign, by election or general election, you're well advised to avoid predicting the result and get on with trying to influence it," he said.
Mr Prescott described Mr Dorrell's comments as "quite astonishing" and claimed that it indicated both men were more interested in the Tory leadership contest.
"Even before the writ for Wirral South has been moved officially, senior Tories are falling out . . . of course the real issue is not the by election but the Tory leadership contest after the general election. Both men are desperate to be leading contenders and Heseltine is no doubt angry that Dorrell has been chosen to kick off the campaign," he said.
The Wirral South by election was prompted by the death of the Tory MP Mr Barry Porter, who had a majority of over 8,000.