Britain:British prime minister Gordon Brown will spell out his vision for a fourth Labour term in power at his party's conference in Bournemouth this afternoon amid rising general election fever.
The prime minister did nothing to kill off speculation about a possible autumn poll in a pre-conference interview yesterday, while key ministers Douglas Alexander and Ed Balls fuelled speculation about the possibility of an October or November contest.
And as a fresh ICM poll put Labour six points ahead, former Tory minister Michael Portillo conceded the prospect of an early election was "frightening" David Cameron's Conservatives.
Mr Brown said there was "speculation all the time" and insisted his focus remained "entirely on the issues affecting the country".
However, Mr Balls told the BBC's World this Weekendprogramme that the speculation was "natural" given the changes represented by Mr Brown.
He taunted the Conservatives who had previously challenged the new prime minister to seek his own mandate after succeeding Tony Blair in May.
Mr Balls's teasing comments followed election co-ordinator Mr Alexander's assertion on Saturday that Labour was ready to fight the election whenever Mr Brown chose to call it.
Labour's growing confidence that it can win was also underlined when foreign secretary David Miliband spoke of the party's ambition to break the Tory record set by Margaret Thatcher and John Major to gain "the second decade of New Labour".
Mr Brown's private pollster told last week's "political cabinet" meeting that Labour was in a winning position, and a number of initially cautious ministers are now urging Mr Brown to seize the opportunity to break Mr Cameron's leadership and win the authority of his own popular mandate for a full five-year term.
Yesterday's ICM poll for the Sunday Mirrorput Labour on 39 per cent, six points ahead of the Conservatives, with the Liberal Democrats on 19 per cent.
The findings reinforce the belief that Mr Brown has avoided blame for the run on the Northern Rock bank, while winning admiration for his handling of a succession of crises including foot-and-mouth outbreaks and the attempted car bombings in London and Glasgow.
However, a number of Labour MPs in marginal constituencies in the south of England urged Mr Brown to review the state of the polls after Christmas, looking to consolidate his current lead of between six and eight points before calling an election in the spring. Just last Thursday Mr Portillo, like Lord (Paddy) Ashdown, had expressed the firm belief that Mr Brown would delay until May 2009 before going to the country.
Yesterday he told ITV's Sunday Edition: "I have been undecided for a long time as to whether this whole exercise by Gordon Brown is simply a way of putting the frighteners on the Conservative Party."
However he conceded it had forced Mr Cameron "to bring forward all sorts of stuff that he would have liked to have brought out over a couple of years" and caused "confusion" in the party ahead of next week's Blackpool conference at which Mr Cameron would now have to "produce a speech that really changes people's perceptions of him".
Reflecting widespread concern in Tory ranks, Mr Portillo said Mr Cameron must appear as a strong man: "I think the real gap that has opened up between Gordon Brown and David Cameron is the belief that Gordon Brown is strong and David Cameron isn't. That is fundamental and what he has to put right."
Whether or not Mr Cameron will be given time to recover his standing in the polls may not become clear until after next week's Conservative conference.
Senior Labour sources were quoted yesterday suggesting that Mr Brown does not regard October 25th - the last Thursday before the clocks go back - as the last date for an election this year.
In his speech to conference - his first as leader and prime minister - Mr Brown is expected to develop upon a letter to the party promising "a fairer, stronger Britain" while identifying six challenges facing the country.
These he listed as responding to rising public expectations with a new standard of public services; globalisation, change happening at speed and the "moral necessity" to liberate the talents of the British people; security and terrorism, and the yearning "for a Britain of stronger, safer communities"; changes in the make-up of society and the "profound issues" raised by a changing age profile; climate change and environmental issues; and the pressure on parents embarked on "the unforgettable journey of bring up their children".
With Mr Brown also identifying the health service as a key battleground, Mr Miliband said: "this is a party that is planning how it is going to use the next 10 years to go further towards solving them. The second decade of New Labour will deliver a richer, fairer, more confident country than today in the same way that Britain is a richer, fairer more confident country than it was 10 years ago."