Gordon Brown will set out his priorities for government today as he stands in front of the Labour Party conference for the first time as Prime Minister, but is unlikely to comment on an election date.

Against a backdrop of speculation about the possibility of the General Election coming in October, Mr Brown will focus on the challenges he expects to face in the next 10 years but will probably leave the electorate none the wiser about his election plans.

Last night, sources close to the Prime Minister maintained the decision was "finely balanced".

A succession of cabinet ministers privately insisted they did not know when the election will be, and at least two members of Mr Brown's inner circle suggested no decision had been taken.

Mr Brown is unlikely to make his plans clear before next week's Conservative Party conference, with aides fearing an early announcement would turn the Tory conference into a rallying call for the election.

Earlier, the Prime Minister refused to be drawn on the likelihood of an election. Asked, as is widely believed, if his advisers are telling him to go to the country, he said: "No, I'm getting on with the job. My focus is on the work ahead, the return of parliament, Iraq, the health service."

Later Ed Balls, the Children, Schools and Families Secretary, and close ally of the Prime Minister, appeared to pour cold water on the prospects of a snap election, suggesting the party would need "months" to lay out its new policies. "If the public simply thought this was a political calculation about when to call an election, I think they would rightly say, Hang on a sec, what we want to know is what is the nature of the choice'."