Council returning officers predict no general election before 2009 following Labour's drubbing in last week's local election polls. Up until a few weeks ago, speculation was rife in Westminister that Gordon Brown, once elected prime minister, would seek a poll as early as autumn 2007 in order to catch the Conservatives on the hoof. However, a combination of cash problems for both parties and Mr Cameron's rising popularity provoked Mr Brown into denying last week that he had any plans for an early election. Huntingdonshire DC chief executive, David Monks, chair of the SOLACE electoral matters panel, predicted June 2009 as general election month, to be combined with the European Parliament polls. He said: ‘We've certainly not had any inclination of an autumn election. My feeling is it will be 2009. ‘The PM could put off local elections until June, and combine them with the European and a general election on the same day.' He said that although returning officers needed as little as three weeks notice for an election, in practice, regulations to release election fees are usually triggered beforehand. Mr Monks added that in the case of the May 2005 election ‘we started talking about fees and so on with Government officials the previous winter.'