UK heading for general election after Labour backs December vote

Britain is on course for a December general election after Labour announced they would be throwing their support behind heading to the polls on 12 December.

Leader Jeremy Corbyn told his shadow cabinet that the party’s condition of taking a no-deal Brexit ‘off the table’ has been met. Boris Johnson will attempt to convince MPs to back his 12 December date for an election in the Commons today after failing to get a majority yesterday.

Setting out his support, Mr Corbyn said Labour would launch the ‘most ambitious and radical campaign for real change our country has ever seen’. Yesterday the EU agreed to a Brexit extension until 31 January 2020 in order to avoid Britain leaving with no-deal on Thursday.

Addressing the shadow cabinet this morning, Mr Corbyn said: ‘I have consistently said that we are ready for an election and our support is subject to a No Deal Brexit being off the table.

‘We have now heard from the EU that the extension of Article 50 to 31st January has been confirmed, so for the next three months, our condition of taking No Deal off the table has now been met. ‘We will now launch the most ambitious and radical campaign for real change our country has ever seen.’

Reports also claim Labour will push for an amendment to the election bill to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to be able to vote. But the Electoral Commission have said it would take six months to enrol children.

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Mr Johnson will ask for an election for the fourth time this afternoon using a short Bill which sets aside the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, requiring only a simple majority of MPs. On Monday, MPs voted 299 to 70 in favour of holding the election, but it was 135 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to call a snap election.

The Liberal Democrats and the SNP are reluctant to accept Mr Johnson’s date of 12 December, fearing it allows time to bring the Withdrawal Agreement Bill before MPs ahead of the start of the campaign.

They signalled support for a poll on 9 December instead, calling for an election before another vote on the PM’s Brexit bill. But they could put forward a proposal for an election on 11 December which the Government is likely to accept, a Number 10 source said.

Mr Corbyn’s move does not guarantee a December election, with Labour expected to support amendments to the Bill.

The party may back a change to the date which – if selected by the speaker – could be backed by the Liberal Democrats and the SNP. Lib Dem MP Chuka Umunna said his party is against holding a general election on Mr Johnson’s preferred polling date, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘It cannot be the 12th.’ He said: ‘We will see what else they come forward with. We have got to break the gridlock.’