 Speaking at a summer fete in his constituency on 18 August 1951, Dodds disclosed that the Cabinet was split on the issue of whether to hold a general election that October or whether to wait until June 1952.He stated his prediction that the election would in fact be held on 25 October 1951.The fact that Ministers were divided about when to call an election was an open secret but Dodds' speech allowed it to be reported and his prediction was taken seriously.