Snap election? - Forget it, unless someone gives Brown £40 million

The Independent repeats something I have read in several places recently. Although there is much talk of an early general election, it is estimated that Labour will not have enough cash to fight one until 2008, probably autumn of that year at that.

Labour spent £17.9 million on their 2005 general election campaign. They are currently around £20 million+ in the red. (It was £25 million at the end of last year but there have been reports of an improvement since then).

The Conservatives have cut their debt to £9 million.

So, it does not take a rocket scientist to work out that, unless someone gives Gordon Brown a sum of money somewhere north of £40 million, the chances of a "snap election" are slim. That calculation, of course, assumes a need for zero Labour party debt before going to the country, which is, of course, not absolute.