Brown could call an October poll to 'finish off' Tories

Gordon Brown could call an autumn election in the next fortnight following polls that show his lead over David Cameron widening by the day.

Labour strategists have pencilled in October 25 to "finish off" the Tories and secure a five-year mandate for the Prime Minister.

Speculation about an early poll electrified Westminster last night following the remarkable turnaround in Mr Brown's fortunes.

But, with senior Labour figures admitting privately that the odds remain "overwhelmingly" against a sudden contest, there were suspicions that Mr Brown is merely trying to rattle the Conservatives.

Yesterday the Cabinet was shown the results of focus groups and voter surveys that suggest Mr Brown has seen off the surge launched by David Cameron last month.

Ministers were also told that Labour MPs in marginal seats are confident they can confound expectations by increasing their majorities.

General election supremo Douglas Alexander told the Cabinet that Labour preparations - including drafting the manifesto and selecting candidates - are almost complete.

Tantalisingly, Mr Brown did not use the meeting, on the eve of the Labour Party conference, to end long-running speculation about his plans.

Instead, he left ministers in no doubt that next week's gathering in Bournemouth will be used as a last-minute test of the party's readiness.

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Sources said that if Labour activists make clear they are hungry for a contest, and if polls continue to show Mr Brown enjoying a commanding lead among voters, then he could go to the Queen the following week.

The formal announcement, which has to be made no later than October 4, could be timed to coincide with the Conservative conference that week in a further attempt to destabilise Mr Cameron.

It would mean the first autumn election since 1974, when Labour increased its majority.

Polling day would be on Thursday October 25, three days before the clocks go back.

Earlier this month, the prospect of an autumn election had all but vanished as Mr Brown faced a Tory comeback, a resurgence of foot and mouth disease, and the crisis that engulfed Northern Rock.

But a Populus poll for The Times yesterday, and a similar survey for ITV, suggested that his standing has improved since he intervened to protect savers by offering them a Government guarantee that their money was safe.

The polls - taken after the Northern Rock intervention - showed voters still trust Mr Brown above Mr Cameron to run the economy, and that confidence in the Tory leader has fallen.

A separate ICM poll in The Guardian showed that Labour has widened its lead over the Tories to eight points.

Labour's advantage is the largest recorded by ICM since Mr Cameron became Tory leader in 2005.

Senior Tories fear a fourth general election defeat could have a devastating impact on the party's future.

Two weeks ago, Labour advisers expected Mr Brown to rule out an autumn election before going to Bournemouth. They said he would not want speculation to overshadow his speech on Monday.

But one said: "The Tories say they want an election and keep launching opportunistic attacks that make a mockery of their calls for consensus politics.

"It's a long shot, but if the polls keep improving, then the party might conclude that the case for finishing off the Tories is irresistible."