MPS HAVE reacted after Jeremy Corbyn announced he would support a general election – effectively pushing the button on a Christmas time poll.

The Labour leader announced yesterday that he would support Boris Johnson’s plan for a December election.

Mr Corbyn said he changed his mind after the EU extended the Brexit deadline.

In his maiden speech of the campaign, he said: “We are ready for an election.

“We’re going to go out there with a very strong message of how we transform society.”

Mr Lloyd Russell-Moyle, MP for Brighton Kemptown, said: “We all knew this was coming.

“When I was knocking on doors in Queen’s Park, people were saying ‘let’s get it done’.

“This is an election against an extreme right wing conservative Government who will break up our union, give us more austerity and sell schools.

“People who were thinking voting for other parties need to think carefully about what outcome they want.”

Labour attempted to push through an amendment which would have given 16 and 17-year-olds and EU nationals the vote.

This was defeated by MPs.

Downing Street said it would have dropped its plans for the elections should the amendment have been agreed.

Green MP for Brighton Pavilion Caroline Lucas said: “A general election will not resolve Brexit because it is what is says – general – covering a multitude of issues. If we want a specific answer to Brexit, there needs to be a specific question, asked in the form of a people’s vote.

“All that a general election in December will do is give a stage to people like Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson whose main agenda is to instil chaos in which division will thrive.”

The Commons had backed the election motion by 299 to 70 when a vote was held on Monday.

But the Government’s proposals fell short of the two-thirds of all 650 MPs needed to call and election.

Peter Kyle, MP for Hove and Portslade, said: “A general election didn’t resolve Brexit in 2017 and it’s unlikely to do so in 2019.

“I can’t see how this is in the interests of our country so, on principle, I will be voting against this election.

“It’s the job of politicians to solve voters’ problems, yet the premise of this election is that we need voters to solve politician’s problems.”

The proposal for a December election was still being debated last night as The Argus went to press.