Conservative leader David Cameron has said he is ready to fight a General Election in October if Prime Minister Gordon Brown decides to call a snap poll.
The Tories' general election manifesto is already being written, he revealed.
Speculation over an early election has been mounting as a result of a series of opinion polls showing Labour maintaining a steady lead of six or seven points over the Conservatives since Mr Brown moved to 10 Downing Street - enough to secure a healthy majority of 100 or more if repeated at the ballot box.
A leaked memo on Thursday showed that Labour polling guru Lord Gould has advised Mr Brown to go for "an early election after a short period of intense and compelling activity".
Asked on Channel 4 News whether he was ready for an election in October, Mr Cameron replied: "We've got the candidates, we've very effectively raised money, cleared a lot of our debts, and we're ready to fight an election on that ground, and a manifesto is under preparation at the moment."
The comment came as Mr Cameron vowed to engage the Government in "a bare-knuckle fight" over plans to downgrade district general hospitals in the NHS.
Speaking during a visit to the threatened Horton General Hospital in Banbury, Oxfordshire, he said: "There are 40 maternity units currently under threat and 90 accident and emergency units under threat.
"The Government does not believe in district general hospitals. I promise the Government that there will be an absolute bare-knuckle fight on this."
Mr Cameron returned from a visit to Afghanistan, and told Channel 4 News that improvements were needed to the command structures for both military and civil operations in the country.
Asked if more troops were needed in Afghanistan, he replied: "No, I don't think that's right. There may be a need for some additional troops; there is certainly a need for more helicopters. But what we really need to do is each of the key players in this situation has got to ask what they need to do."
