Brown to call General Election 'within a year'

Senior aides to Gordon Brown are saying he will call an election within a year, next summer at the latest.

They say privately that his party conference speech in 10 days will be the "last before a general election".

One Brownite closely involved with the conference planning said: "It will be a rally in the sense it will be the party gathering for the last time before the next election.

"We should be clear about that before people go back to their constituencies."

In theory, the Prime Minister could delay until summer 2010.

May 2008 is seen as the favourite window, although an autumn poll is still an option.

Another senior aide said there was now a "strong temptation" to hold a snap election before Christmas.

"It would be wrong to rule out that possibility," he said. "There is a strong logic to it."

Mr Brown's hopes were boosted today by a poll showing voters trust him most if the economy runs into trouble.

His clear lead over David Cameron on the issue suggests that recent fears over the economy could help keep Labour in power.

Asked whom they would trust most to deal with a crisis in the economy, a majority of voters, 61 per cent, preferred Mr Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling to be in charge at the Treasury, according to the Populus survey for The Times.

Almost a quarter of Conservative supporters, 23 per cent, and two-thirds of Liberal Democrats took the same view.

Some 27 per cent said they favoured Mr Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne, including six per cent of Labour supporters and 19 per cent of Liberal Democrats.

MPs will see the findings as significant because John Major's surprise Conservative victory in 1992 followed similar findings that, despite the unpopularity of Tories on some issues, he was then more trusted than Labour's Neil Kinnock on the economy.

Election speculation faded with recent polls suggesting that Mr Cameron had closed the gap with Labour to one point.

A new major poll is due this weekend which could whip up speculation again.

Mr Brown yesterday appointed Lady Thatcher's old advertising agency, Saatchi and Saatchi, to work for Labour during the campaign.

And details were emerging of the meeting he enjoyed with the Iron Lady, to the discomfort of Mr Cameron's Tories.

It was revealed that she brought presents for his children, looked round her old flat, took tea with Sarah Brown and cosseted the new No 10 cat, Sybil.