Boris Johnson’s hopes of securing a general election are fading as Jeremy Corbyn gained support for his move to block any poll until Brexit is delayed.
The Labour leader believes he can trap the Prime Minister by refusing to agree to his proposed October 15 election date, forcing Mr Johnson to seek an extension from the EU.
Mr Corbyn said the no-deal prevention Bill must become law before he supports a snap election, with his party considering a pact with the SNP to block a poll before the UK’s departure from the bloc is again delayed.
Stephen Gethins, the party's Europe spokesman in Westminster, said his first priority was "making sure no-deal is off the table". He told the Times: "We can't trust Boris Johnson one bit."
And Labour and SNP chiefs have already held talks over pushing back a possible election until as late as November to guarantee there is no chance of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal, according to reports last night.
Mr Johnson will on Friday visit a farm in Aberdeenshire to drum up support among voters as opposition leaders continue their talks over how to prevent a no-deal Brexit on October 31.
The PM's continued campaigning comes after a day of unwelcome events saw Jo Johnson quit as a senior minister attending meetings of his brother's Cabinet, saying that he has in recent weeks been “torn between family loyalty and the national interest - it's an unresolvable tension.”
But Mr Johnson maintained his uncompromising stance on Brexit, saying in a televised speech that he would rather be "dead in a ditch" than go to Brussels to ask for a further delay.
Mr Corbyn will speak with other opposition leaders in a phone call on Monday over no-deal and a general election strategy. It is understood he will talk to the SNP's Ian Blackford, the Lib Dems' Jo Swinson and Plaid Cymru's Liz Saville Roberts among others.
After this, the PM will make a fresh attempt to call an early election. The government will need the backing of two thirds of MPs to succeed.
His first attempt on Tuesday night failed to get two thirds of MPs to back an election being held, a threshold needed under the 2011 Fixed Term Parliaments Act. Hundreds of MPs abstained in the vote, with 298 voting in favour and 56 against.
The cross-party bid to require the PM to ask for a Brexit extension if there is not a deal in place cleared the Commons on Wednesday, and is due to complete its progress through the Lords on Friday.
On Thursday, Mr Johnson was also distancing himself from comments made by Jacob Rees-Mogg about a doctor he clashed with over no-deal Brexit contingency planning.
The Commons leader was forced to apologise after comparing Dr David Nicholl, a consultant neurologist who helped write the Government's Operation Yellowhammer plans, with disgraced anti-vaxxer Andrew Wakefield.
Chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies wrote to the ardent Brexiteer to express her "sincere disappointment" about the "disrespectful way" he spoke about the doctor in the Commons.
West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson was among those critical of the PM for having rows of police officers behind him during the political speech.
"It clearly turned into a rant about Brexit, the Opposition and a potential general election. There's no way that police officers should have formed the backdrop to a speech of that nature," he said.
In Aberdeenshire on Friday Mr Johnson will say Scottish farmers will receive an extra £51.4 million over the next two years, in addition to the £160 million announced in Wednesday's spending round.
