In a matter of weeks, the date for a General Election, will be announced. According to some parliamentary experts, the likely date will be around the beginning of May. That’s a little over 14 weeks away. And the question many political betting punters are asking is : “Can Gordon Brown really expect to turn things around before the election?”

Yesterday, a haphazard attempt to undermine Brown’s leadership was hatched by labour backbencher, Geoff Hoon. A letter was released to all Labour MP’s calling for a secret ballot on the leadership of the party. However, not one of the Labour heavyweights stood behind it and soon the attempt to boot Brown out from NO.10 before the next General Election fizzled and disappeared just as quickly as it had arose.

But, it’s left a mark on the PM and it highlights that Gordon Brown’s jacket is on a shoogly peg.

It now leaves the door open for speculation and rumour about Brown, even more than normal, in the run-up to the next Prime Minister betting stakes.

David Cameron and the Tories will now smell blood and are bound to use this “Labour unrest” to their own benefit. A majority of the public will also be thinking along the same lines. How are we expected to show support for Brown and vote him in as our next Prime Minister when his own party are unsure if they want him as leader?

They say a week is a long time in politics, I imagine they’ll be plenty more political mud slung before we head to the polls in May.

Next UK General Election 2010 Betting Odds

Conservatives	1/12	1/12	3/25	1/12	1/14	1/12	1/12
Labour	6	6	67/10	6	5	13/2	6
Liberal Democrats	150	66	132	100	100	80	100