British Prime Minister Gordon Brown refused today to rule out an early general election after a new opinion poll showed last week's bank crisis had failed to dent his government's popularity.
As the Labour party opened its annual conference in the seaside town of Bournemouth, speculation was high that Brown might call an election as early as October 25 to capitalise on a strong lead in the opinion polls.
"I'm not going to give a running commentary," Brown said under repeated questioning in a BBC interview on whether he would announce an election when he addresses the conference for the first time as leader on Monday.
But schools minister and close Brown ally Ed Balls threw cold water on the prospect of an imminent election.
"If the public simply thought that this was a political calculation about when to call an election, I think they would rightly stand back and say 'Hang on a sec, what we want to know is what is the nature of the choice,'" he told BBC Radio.
Labour would put forward its agenda on health, crime and education "this week ... and in the coming months," he said.
The 56-year-old Brown, who took over from Tony Blair in June, does not have to call an election until 2010, but his lead in the polls has convinced some he should do so now and assure Labour of an unprecedented fourth successive win.