LONDON (AFP) -- The governing Labor Party is strong enough to fight a general election at any time, its campaign coordinator said Saturday, fuelling speculation one could be held as early as October.

In an interview with The Guardian, Brown lieutenant David Alexander boasted that the party has the policies, the funds and organization to go to the polls and give new Prime Minister Gordon Brown a popular mandate.
Following an internal party selection process that did not require a general election, Brown succeeded Tony Blair, who stepped down on June 27 after a decade in power.
""There have been significant donations in recent weeks, notwithstanding our financial difficulties in the past, we have been working hard and we will be ready whenever the prime minister decides to call the election,"" Alexander said.
Opinion polls showed that Labor has held on to its reputation for economic competence, despite the crisis surrounding the Northern Rock bank.
Confidence in the banking system was shaken after Northern Rock applied for emergency funds from the Bank of England in the wake of a credit squeeze in the global money markets triggered by bad debt in the U.S. housing market.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Friday that Brown would gauge the mood at the party conference before deciding whether or not to call an election within weeks.
In excerpts from an interview for GMTV's Sunday program, Justice Secretary Jack Straw said meanwhile that Brown goes into the conference with ""overwhelming"" public backing, adding the level of support was ""striking.""