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Brown mulling mid-term elections to cash in on popularity?

LONDON: There is growing speculation that the new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown might call a snap election to obtain a popular mandate for his leadership.

The buzz is that a general election could be held as early as this autumn or next spring and an announcement is expected at the Labour Party’s annual conference next month.

Labour MPs have already been put on election “alert”, the process of candidate-selection is reported to have been accelerated and a high-profile director of general election resources has been appointed to coordinate funding and organisational issues.

Mr. Brown who took over from Tony Blair in June is enjoying a “honeymoon” period with opinion polls predicting an overwhelming majority for Labour Party in the event of an election.

The party is 10 points ahead of the Tories, according to a poll published on Sunday. This is Labour’s best showing since Mr. Blair took the country to war with Iraq triggering a dramatic decline in the party’s popularity.

Mr. Brown’s personal ratings as a leader capable of handling crisis situations have been boosted by the way he handled the London-Glasgow terror plot, the floods and the foot-and-mouth crisis within weeks of taking over.

In contrast, the Tories who were way ahead of Labour until two months ago are in a shambles after their leader David Cameron got embroiled in a series of controversies over his policies.

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