Boris Johnson offers longer Brexit deal debate in exchange for snap election

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday that he would grant members of Parliament an extended timetable to debate his Brexit deal, provided they back a general election on Dec. 12, per the BBC.

The state of play: Johnson's offer significantly ups the stakes in the ongoing Brexit tumult, but there's no guarantee that Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party will agree to the offer.

• Johnson told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that — should his offer be accepted — he would try to get his Brexit deal, which passed a procedural parliamentary vote this week, through Parliament before it dissolves on Nov. 6 to campaign.
• Corbyn would surely rather fight an election without an agreed-upon deal — in effect, turning the election into an extended referendum on Johnson's deal.

Between the lines: This is Johnson's first admission that the U.K. will not leave the EU on Oct. 31, which he previously stated would happen "do or die."

• He said that he "really" did not want to ask the EU for an extension but was forced to by the political realities.

Go deeper: Everything you need to know about Brexit