Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn trade blows as December election campaign cranks into gear

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Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn have traded blows as they prepare to hit the election campaign trail for the pre-Christmas poll on December 12.

The Prime Minister blamed the Labour leader for the failure to fulfil his "do or die" promise to deliver Brexit on Halloween, while Mr Corbyn slammed the "corrupt" British system of doing business.

Mr Johnson previously pledged that he would rather be "dead in a ditch" than extend Brexit beyond October 31.

But he will use election visits on Thursday to claim it was Mr Corbyn's fault the UK's withdrawal from the EU had been put back until January 31.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has blamed Jeremy Corbyn for failing to deliver Brexit on Halloween 
AFP via Getty Images

As the General Election campaign cranked into gear, the PM was due to say later: "Today should have been the day that Brexit was delivered and we finally left the EU.

"But, despite the great new deal I agreed with the EU, Jeremy Corbyn refused to allow that to happen - insisting upon more dither, more delay and more uncertainty for families and business."

In his first major stump speech of the countdown to the pre-Christmas political clash, Mr Corbyn will hit out at the "tax dodgers, bad bosses, big polluters, and billionaire-owned media holding our country back".

The war of words came as the UK braced itself for a bitter winter election campaign ahead of the December 12 vote.

Mr Corbyn will use the speech in London to "call out" people like the media baron Rupert Murdoch, and the Duke of Westminster.

Jeremy Corbyn will blast what he brands a "corrupt system" in Britain as he launches Labour's general election campaign
REUTERS

He will say that "the elite" are scared of the British people, which is why "they'll throw everything" at Labour in the upcoming election.

Mr Corbyn will say: "This election is a once-in-a-generation chance to transform our country, take on the vested interests holding people back and ensure that no community is left behind.

"So, we're going after the tax dodgers. We're going after the dodgy landlords. We're going after the bad bosses. We're going after the big polluters. Because we know whose side we're on.

"Whose side are you on? The dodgy landlords, like the Duke of Westminster, Britain's youngest billionaire, who tried to evict whole blocks of families to make way for luxury apartments? Or the millions of tenants in Britain who struggle to pay their rent each month?

"Whose side are you on? The bad bosses like Mike Ashley, the billionaire who won't pay his staff properly and is running Newcastle United into the ground?

"Whose side are you on? The big polluters like Jim Ratcliffe, Britain's richest man who makes his money by polluting the environment? Or the children growing up in our cities with reduced lung capacity because of choking pollution?

Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street
Getty Images

"And whose side are you on? The billionaire media barons like Rupert Murdoch, whose empire pumps out propaganda to support a rigged system."

The fighting talk came after high profile MPs Nicky Morgan and Amber Rudd announced they would not stand in the looming December general election.

Culture Secretary Ms Morgan, who previously served as education secretary under David Cameron, has represented Loughborough for the Conservatives since 2010.

Her departure from the political frontline mirrors that of a slew of prominent Conservative figures including former home secretary Amber Rudd.

Meanwhile, Brexit Party sources have said that reports its leader Nigel Farage would stand down candidates in Tory seats and concentrate on challenging some 20 Labour MPs in Leave areas was "wild speculation".

Legislation to trigger a pre-Christmas general election has cleared the Lords and will now go forward for Royal Assent to become law.

The one-page Bill, which passed the Commons last night, was approved without amendment shortly after receiving an unopposed second reading by peers.

It will now head for the statute book and so enable Parliament to be dissolved on November 6, paving the way for an election on December 12.

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