The Tories have called for an immediate general election when Tony Blair steps down as Prime Minister.
Shadow education secretary David Willetts said that Mr Blair had been elected on a pledge that he would serve a full third term in office.
But with the Prime Minister now set to go at around the halfway point, Mr Willetts said that his successor should go straight to the country.
"I think there is a very strong case for an election because after all Tony Blair was elected on the basis that he would run for a full term," he told Sky News's Sunday Live programme.
"This is one of the many pledges he has made towards the electorate which he hasn't then kept.
"I think that the electorate would understandably want to see a general election when they decide who should be leading the country.
"It shouldn't just be an internal matter in the Labour Party."
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