Boris Johnson has announced that he will try again to trigger an early general election, which he wants to hold on Thursday 12th December – in just seven weeks’ time.

This was the same time-frame Teresa May allowed for the 2017 General Election , so who knows if the outcome will be wildly different to what the polls currently suggest?

If the Commons votes in favour of an election next week, the Prime Minister will aim to get the Brexit bill through parliament and “all possible time” will be made available for MPs to debate and scrutinise it.

Under those circumstances, with MPs’ approval for an election, parliament is set to dissolve just after midnight on Friday 6th December, whether MPs approve the new Brexit deal or not.

The PM tweeted the following statement:

I have written to Jeremy Corbyn: this Parliament must get Brexit done now or a NEW Parliament must get Brexit done so the country can move on pic.twitter.com/PekfFRsR9F

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) October 24, 2019

This means that Johnson has acknowledged that the October 31st “do or die” Brexit deadline is unachievable, and that he expects the EU to offer an extension until January 31st as requested under the Benn Act.

“You have repeatedly said that once the EU accepts parliament’s request for a delay until 31 January, then you would immediately support an election,” Johnson wrote to Jeremy Corbyn.

Labour has not yet commented on the news.

But Laura Parker, Momentum’s national coordinator, said: “Bring it on. Our campaign will see tens of thousands of people talk to millions of voters across the country. The choice is crystal clear. Labour will unite our country, invest in hundreds of thousands of good, green jobs and bring real change to towns and cities across the country.

“The Tories spent the last decade dividing the country, ripping up our public services and pursuing an extremist, no-deal Brexit. In 2017 Momentum’s campaign swung key seats for Labour, this time we’re going to run the biggest people-powered campaign the country has ever seen” she claimed.

This may be a developing story but my guess is that until the Extension or ‘Delay’ to the UK’s departure from the EU is officially set in stone the opposition parties won’t wear it.  The decision really depends on what the EU’s official response to the PM’s unsigned letter asking for an extension will be…

This is also assuming that the EU give an extension long enough of course, January 31st is stipulated in the Benn Act/Surrender Bill, whatever you choose to call it, but the EU itself is not bound by the Benn Act, they may want a resolution sooner !

But don’t hold your breath, I certainly wouldn’t be placing any bets on the exact date of the General Election…..