Brexit latest: Boris Johnson seeking to hold general election on December 12
Published: 19:51, 24 October 2019
Updated: 20:15, 24 October 2019
Voters could be going to the polls while they do their Christmas shopping after the Prime Minister confirmed he plans to hold a snap election.
Boris Johnson is eyeing up December 12 as the date for a general election as he seeks to get his new Brexit deal through parliament.
KMTV analyse Boris Johnson's election plan
The Prime Minister said in parliament: "What we've decided is that we've finally got a way forward for the country and the EU."
He will need two-thirds of MPs to back the plan when a vote is held in the Commons on Monday.
Labour says it is willing to go to the polls, but only when the option of leaving the EU without a deal is off the table.
The last general election was in June 2017.
Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (FTPA) the next one is scheduled to be held on 5 May, 2022, which is why the government needs parliamentary approval to override this.
It is expected the EU will give the UK another extension beyond the existing October 31 deadline, thought to be sometime in mid November.
That could then be extended to January if parliament fails to agree the Prime Minister's deal, which was narrowly passed earlier this week.
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Geoffrey Bew