Former Premier Jennifer Smith ? ousted from office three years ago ? could still hold the key to the Progressive Labour Party leadership fight.

One highly-placed Ewart Brown supporter admitted the challenger faced an uphill battle to oust Premier Alex Scott as he will be faced with delegates still hostile after Dame Jennifer was dumped ? straight after winning the 2003 general election.

Dr. Brown resigned from Cabinet on Thursday to fight for the leadership but one supporter told : ?Ewart?s chances of winning are not guaranteed by a long shot.

?He might have the support of the delegates but that doesn?t mean the delegates want him.

?It?s an uphill battle.?

And the appointment of Dame Jennifer?s former aide-de-camp David Burch to the Tourism post will have helped Mr. Scott shore up the Smith wing of the party after recent compromises with the Brown camp including the appointment of Derrick Burgess to Home Affairs.

Political pundit Walton Brown said the Smith factor was crucial.

?To many inside and outside the party Jennifer Smith wields a considerable degree of influence. She has a delegate contingent within the party.?

He said Dame Jennifer had been in the party since the early 1970s and had a keen nose for party dynamics.

?She was always a great internal party strategist and I suspect retains considerable influence. If there is a bloc she has considerable sway ? but I don?t know how big it is.

?And you can make a reasonable inference she might hold Dr. Brown responsible for her demise as leader although that would not be entirely true ? there were 11 individuals one should include.?

The Smith faction might also move to support Finance Minister Paula Cox if Alex Scott stepped aside.

However, one senior party source said last night it looked like Ms Cox could team up with the Premier and contest the deputy leader post in the vote on October 27.

Mr. Brown said: ?I think Minister Cox might have broader appeal.?

But he said if both Ms Cox and Mr. Scott were in the fray the anti-Brown vote would be divided.

?I think Minister Cox brings a lot to the table. She?s articulate, understands a lot of the issues, not just finance, but from a social standpoint. She would be a strong candidate.?

But Mr. Brown said being deputy wasn?t necessarily much of a prize. He said: ?It?s like being Vice President in the US. There is no guarantee you get anything.

?She has a high profile in the private sector. She has a hard time deciding between that and a political career. Clearly she could not be Premier and work full time anywhere else.?

Mr. Brown said there was an outside chance another candidate could come forward such as Terry Lister who retired from Cabinet recently to spend more time with his family.

He warned there was the prospect of party delegates choosing a leader the parliamentary party didn?t want. He said it was important the leader had the support of the majority of MPs.

?The Premier is appointed by the Governor, the Premier needs the support of the MPs.?

But he said it was possible Dr. Brown had the bulk of the parliamentary party while Mr. Scott had the bulk of the delegates.

And Mr. Brown pointed out that delegates couldn?t be told which way to vote. There are more than 100 delegates. Each branch is entitled to three delegates for its first 20 members. Another delegate is then added for every 20 members, or part thereof.

However overzealous supporters will not get the chance to boost delegations by last minute membership drives as delegate numbers are based on membership levels as of August 31.

Branches are supposed to register their delegates by Monday however party campaign chairman Walter Roban said late registrations were not likely to be turned away as long as the delegate was a paid up member. He said: ?It is a fairly informal process.? He said the branch chairman or MP often picked the delegates.

Asked if it could lead to a faction making sure their supporters got to cast their votes Senator Roban said delegates were likely to be independent minded.