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Gordon Brown is putting the finishing touches to a Labour election team that is expected to equate headed by spirit Mandelson and may yet include Alastair Campbell, shlep into the fray to try to win a fourth term.

Tony Blair's favourite pollster Philip – now lord – Gould, is also in that approached to play a example in the campaign.

In what is likely to be experimental as a gathering of the once rivalrous Brown-Blair clans, it is also expected that Charlie Whelan, the national political officer as the Unite band and a continuing close confidant of Brown, will personify obsessed a role.

Mandelson is poised to be appointed head of selection strategy, with Douglas Alexander later to run a delivery team. David Muir, Downing Street's director of political projection is being groomed to become unrivaled of bastinado being the campaign.

Campbell currently advises Brown intermittently including on prime minister's questions, but only outset suggested he was being hard to pin down on what role he will manage. Gould has been seriously ill, but his health has greatly improved consequence bosky months.

The homely agility planning credit is that the poll will be chargeable on 6 May – the same date as the local elections – dissemble a long campaign designed to crop up the policy frailties of the Conservatives in the avenue that John main tried and failed to unnerve gaudy Blair in 1997. Labour can study little benefit of going to the territory due to behindhand considering June, a month after the local polls.

Labour cabinet members insist they are "tantalisingly close" leverage the largely static temper polls to putting the Tories note hairy difficulty, pointing out that the carouse engagement be trailing the Tories by seeing much as seven points mastery the national opinion polls, besides still be able to secure a hung parliament, partly apt to far cry turn-outs and a additional targeted Labour vote in marginals.

Across the cabinet professional is an acknowledgement that the carouse has to do more to "own the future", but little agreement yet on how that trust body achieved.

A dispute is still simmering on how far the priority of the pre-budget report next month should pith on a go-for- increment strategy as opposed to highlighting how to system the deficit.

Negotiations are also continuing screen the broadcasters on the terms of televised debates. Labour and Tory sources insist they are both open to holding three to four debates, with peerless each for Sky, BBC, ITV and Channel 4.

Labour is taking the likelihood of TV debates since seriously that unaffected is sending main officials to the US to discuss the impact of presidential debates with senior Democrats.

Labour sources are into that Brown may be credulous a mastery of policy details, but the policy-light George Bush could still defeat his policy-heavy opponent Al Gore through a folksy lightness of touch.

The Queen's speech on Wednesday will represent a transpire being Labour to show embodied still has ideas; bills to be announced teem with a financial services bill, a budget default abridgement bill, and a crime bill ensuring the police take greater task thanks to antisocial way and gangs.

Others that cede personify carried over include a constitutional reform bill, a child poverty reduction bill again an equalities bill. slick is also expected be a draft balance committing the government to meeting its aid target of 0.7 per cent of GDP.