I think that if Gordon Brown is to call an imminent general election he has to announce it and launch the
campaign during his conference speech on monday , otherwise , forget it before next Spring .
A good date would've been  October 18th but he can't force the conservatives to cancel their conference the following week , or allow them the free publicity of a conference during the three week 'official' campaign which means it would be October 25th , so during the campaign he'd be off to the European Summit in Lisbon on the 18th and 19th , helping to finalise the unpopular European Treaty which when the time comes  he'll want , if he thinks he can get away with it , to impose on us without offering us a referendum on it .
If Brown does'nt publicly decide whether or not call a 2007 election very soon he'll be seen to be dithering ,
which he probably is .
I still think there's a less than a 50% chance of a 'snap' election although if there is one it's very difficult to envisage anything other than another labour victory , when , despite tax-rises , immigration , crime , Iraq etc . most working and retired people are reasonably not too badly off , Brown is seen as a strong , principled leader and a 'breath of fresh air' after his predecessor , much of the news media  at least
tacitly supports him , and the Conservatives are frankly a joke at the moment .