I'm still thinking about it," he said.He refused to be drawn on whether he had been talking to any of the main political parties, only saying he had been in discussions with some "people".But by the time he had arrived at Milton Keynes Theatre for rehearsals of his latest panto, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, he had become a firm candidate, complete with his catchy slogan.Mr Bruno, who stars as a circus ringmaster in the production, said in reference to Mr Bell: "Any time he's ready I'm on stand-by."Unfortunately, the former boxer famous for the catchphrase, "Know what I mean, 'Arry?", complicated matters when he said he would be the Tory candidate against Mr Bell.This came as something of a shock to Mr Pickles, the seat's MP since 1992, who is still in the blue corner as the Conservatives' official prospective parliamentary candidate.Raising suspicions that Mr Bruno's "campaign" was more about publicising his panto and his current round of ads for a leather sofa company, Conservative Central Office confirmed that Mr Bruno would have to stand as an independent.Mr Pickles, 48, who holds the country's sixth-safest Conservative seat with a majority of 10,000, said: "My initial reaction is one of surprise I do not see it will have much of an effect on the election. It will liven up the campaign and we will probably get a few people to public meetings."Mr Bell, currently the independent MP for Tatton, announced last month his "provisional" intention to stand in the Essex seat at the election, which is expected this spring.The so-called Man in the White Suit decided to contest Brentwood and Ongar after claims that the local Conservative party had been infiltrated by an evangelical Christian group, the Peniel Pentecostal Church. Although some local Tories left to form their own Independent Conservative group, a Central Office inquiry found no evidence of any impropriety.Mr Bell said he admired Mr Bruno's work in the community but he confessed that he was not sure about the precise nature of his political beliefs.He said: "I covered lots of his fights in Las Vegas many years ago. I don't know where he stands exactly [on political issues] but it would be interesting to find out ... I have talked to Frank only about boxing."I like Frank, he's a great guy and he has every right to stand.

I think it's a good thing when a candidate has a career outside politics and brings their experiences into the public sphere."William Hill is offering odds of 66-1 against Mr Bruno winning the Brentwood constituency, compared with 3-1 against Mr Bell taking it, a spokesman for the bookmaker said. Whether Harry Carpenter will be Mr Bruno's campaign manager is not yet known.. Labour came under renewed pressure on Friday over new figures that show the party will fail to meet two of the five keynote "early" pledges if there is a spring general election. Labour came under renewed pressure on Friday over new figures that show the party will fail to meet two of the five keynote "early" pledges if there is a spring general election. Tony Blair fought the 1997 general election promising to halve the time taken to deal with persistent young offenders from arrest to sentencing from 142 days to 71 days.But Lord Warner, the Labour peer who chairs the Youth Justice Board, confirmed a report by The Independent that the latest figures for October showed that it was still taking 94 days.This meant that the time had been cut by seven weeks since Labour came to power, when it should have been reduced by 10 weeks at this stage, according to the Government's target.

Lord Warner insisted that the pledge was intended to be met over the five years of a full parliamentary term."If you see the pledge in terms of a five-year period, which was a realistic way of looking at the promise, it is actually quite a good way down the track of actually delivering that pledge," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.But Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, warned that if the Government "dared" to go to the polls without having fulfilled all its pledges, it would be breaking a "fundamental commitment".Ministers have already admitted that the pledge to cut class sizes for all pupils aged five, six or seven to fewer than 30 pupils would not be met until September.The pledge card, which was handed out to thousands of potential Labour voters during the 1997 election campaign, spelt out five pledges on which Mr Blair asked the electorate to judge him.The three other commitments have already been met: to cut NHS waiting lists by 100,000; to get 250,000 young jobless into work; and to avoid a rise in income tax rates.. Clare Short, the International Development Secretary, will further fuel speculation about a spring general election by declaring today that Labour is "standing on the brink" of a historic second full term. Clare Short, the International Development Secretary, will further fuel speculation about a spring general election by declaring today that Labour is "standing on the brink" of a historic second full term. In an attempt to persuade the party's core voters to turn out, Ms Short will tell Labour's Eastern Region conference that the Government has produced policies that have benefited its traditional supporters.Her speech is the latest in a series of similar "pre-election" appearances by cabinet ministers around the country and follows Tony Blair's pledge last week to fight on his record on the economy.David Blunkett, the Education Secretary, and Andrew Smith, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, made similar political speeches last week.Next week, Baroness Jay of Paddington, the Leader of the Lords, will travel to north Kent, and Peter Mandelson, the Northern Ireland Secretary, will visit the West Midlands to outline the stark difference between Labour and the Tories.To counter head-on the recent Tory posters claiming that taxes have risen but services have deteriorated, Mr Mandelson is expected to highlight the Government's pleasure that the election will be fought on the quality of public services.. William Hague's hopes of winning the crucial argument over tax and spending at the general election were undermined yesterday by a Treasury study suggesting that the Tory plans do not add up. William Hague's hopes of winning the crucial argument over tax and spending at the general election were undermined yesterday by a Treasury study suggesting that the Tory plans do not add up. An analysis of the Opposition's commitments showed that the Tories had pledged to boost spending on home affairs and defence by £7bn a year. Ministers claimed this figure was "only the tip of the iceberg" and the Treasury's costings exercise is expected to run up a total bill of more than £10bn when other areas are included.The study will make it harder for the Tories to justify their key election pledge to reduce Labour's spending plans by £8bn to make room for tax cuts worth that.