PLANS to adjourn the Stormont talks in Northern Ireland are fuelling speculation that Mr John Major may intend to hold the British general election in late March.
Senior unionists say they expect the talks to go into recess within the next fortnight - a development they believe consistent with an early announcement.
Amid signs of accelerated planning at Conservative Central Office, the British Prime Minister yesterday insisted he had not told cabinet colleagues that May 1st was his preferred election date. It emerged last night that the final draft of the Conservative Campaign Guide was sent to the printers on Tuesday, with instructions that it be ready by mid February.
The party has also booked an alternative venue to stage a major political rally at the end of its local government conference in Birmingham on February 22nd.
Conservative sources said most of the detail of the party's manifesto had been agreed at Monday's day long political cabinet at Chequers, and that only one further meeting would be required to rubber stamp final drafts. Final cabinet approval of the 1992 manifesto was followed by an announcement of the election date within the week.
Mr Major himself sparked a fresh round of speculation on Tuesday night when he flatly denied reports (which emanated from Conservative sources at Chequers) that he had named May 1st as his preferred choice. Speaking in Cardiff he said: "I'm always being told by commentators that it is my target date for the election... I didn't mention the date in my discussions with the cabinet at all."
Unionist MPs are clearly not privy to Mr Major's plans. However, it is understood that he and Mr David Trimble, the UUP leader, have discussed the terms for a pre election adjournment of the Stormont talks. Official sources deny that the two men have any agreement and insist this is a matter for decision by all the participating parties. But Mr Michael Ancram, the Northern Ireland Minister of State, reportedly raised the issue of "a soft landing" for the process in discussions with the Irish Government on Monday. And sources close to Mr Trimble say they expect to see it achieved within the next two weeks.
It is understood Mr Trimble has been resisting a full scale adjournment of the process, in an effort to permit the Northern Ireland Forum to continue sitting.
The government is due to set the date for the Wirral South by election before next Monday, despite opinion poll evidence that it will result in a Conservative defeat just weeks before the general election. That prospect would be removed, and the by election cancelled, if Mr Major sought the dissolution of parliament before the appointed date.