With the Opposition in disarray and its leadership in crisis some pundits believe the Government will be tempted to call a snap election.

However the likelihood of an early poll has been dampened with the news that the Progressive Labour Party has not started candidate selection.

PLP spokesman Wentworth Christopher said: “An election has not yet been determined. We have not yet formally commenced the proceedings for selecting candidates.

“There is much work to be done before that.”

Asked when that would happen he said: “I have not yet been advised. I don’t know if a determination has been made. We have not gone into high gear for the election.”

Some pundits have been predicting the Government could seek a fresh mandate sometime after the budget has worked through the House in order to capitalise on allegations of racism in the UBP.

High-flying MP Jamahl Simmons and party chairman Gwyneth Rawlins both quit after alleging a white clique ran the party.

One UBP insider said the party was expecting an election between April and June this year.

However another opposition source questioned whether the UBP was ready and said there were ten to 14 seats still vacant.

It’s thought marginal seats such as St. George’s South which the Government held by eight votes and Devonshire North Central which the PLP held by just over 100 are still without official UBP candidates. A poll must be held before the autumn of 2008.

Meanwhile UBP MPs were staying tight-lipped about the future of under-fire Opposition leader Wayne Furbert.

Maxwell Burgess, the MP who last week called on leader Wayne Furbert to step down, said: “I have not heard anything and I am not particularly interested.

“I didn’t even know the caucus meeting was called off last night.”

During last week’s press conference in which he slammed Mr. Furbert for not doing enough to stop internal splits Mr. Burgess promised to step up the campaign for change this week.

However Mr. Burgess said he would wait until Mr. Furbert was back before making his next move.

Asked how he could say he was not interested after saying Mr. Furbert needed to go for the good of the country Mr. Burgess said: “The UBP must solve it. I am on record. The country knows where I stand.

“It is a matter for the rest of them.”

UBP St. George’s hopeful Kenny Bascome said he would back the decision of the MPs who will decide Mr. Furbert’s fate in the coming days.

He said Mr. Furbert was being compared unfavourably to Premier Ewart Brown because of his speaking skills.

But leadership was about more than oratory argued Mr. Bascome. He said: “When people say we blacks in the UBP are being used I say we are all being used for the unique skills we bring to the table.

“If people want to believe we are being used against our own people it means we have to work a little harder to convince otherwise. All the things I fought for previously are still the things I care about now.”