Corbyn reportedly told a shadow cabinet meeting that after the EU had approved a Brexit deadline delay to January 31, "our condition of taking no deal [Brexit] 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."

Most polls have Johnson on track for a majority government that would quickly ratify his Brexit divorce deal, with Labour polling at near-historical lows.

"We have an excellent deal, a great deal for the whole of the UK and we will be campaigning on the basis of that deal," Johnson told Parliament on Monday.

However, he will be handicapped by his failure to deliver on his promise of a "do or die" October 31 Brexit, and will face stiff competition for Brexiter votes from Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, which will paint Johnson's divorce deal as an unacceptable compromise.

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The UK Parliament was due to vote on the election bill on Tuesday afternoon.

There was speculation that minor parties may try to amend the bill to give 16 and 17-year-olds or EU citizens a vote.

Though there is widespread support for an election to break the parliamentary deadlock, an unusual December election will cause problems in some areas, with many village halls used as polling stations booked up for nativity plays and other pre-Christmas functions.