Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party’s main condition that a no-deal split should be off the table had been met.

Key Developments:
Johnson needs only simple majority in House of Commons after proposing a bill to set date of next election as Dec. 12
U.K. official says government now offering Dec. 11 as poll date to win support from Liberal Democrats, who are pushing for Dec. 9
Former Chancellor Philip Hammond accuses government of blocking Brexit by suspending debate on divorce deal
Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg says government wants election bill to pass all House of Commons stages on Tuesday; debate to continue “until any hour”
U.K. to Destroy Commemorative 50p Coins in Brexit Meltdown
Trust is Key as SNP Deliberates Over Election (10:45 a.m.)
Scottish National Party MPs are scrutinizing the contents of the government’s election bill ahead of a debate later today, according to a spokesman.

The party wants an election, but its lawmakers don’e trust Boris Johnson to keep to his word, he said.

Government Offers Dec. 11 to Win Lib Dem Support (10 a.m.)
The negotiations have begun in Westminster ahead of the vote on Boris Johnson’s plan for a Dec. 12 general election. With the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party seeking a Dec. 9 poll, a U.K. official said the government has offered Dec. 11 as a compromise.

A spokesman for the Liberal Democrats said the party is looking at the offer.

The government needs some opposition votes to reach a simple majority for its election bill to pass, but it also wants to avoid amendments being attached to the legislation.

Students’ Vacation Key to Election Date Battle (9 a.m.)
The biggest sticking point in Boris Johnson’s bid for a Dec. 12 general election is the date itself. Two smaller opposition parties, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party, whose support could be key to the government’s chances, want an earlier poll on Dec. 9 to ensure students are still at their universities to cast their ballots.

Liberal Democrat MP Chuka Umunna told BBC radio on Tuesday his party would not accept Dec. 12. But Conservative minister Brandon Lewis said Dec. 12 is the “right date” and accused the opposition parties of seeking to stop Brexit altogether. The government has said it needs time before Parliament breaks up for an election to secure key Northern Ireland legislation.

Johnson lacks a majority in Parliament, so will need at least some opposition votes to secure an early election. But the Liberal Democrats and SNP, both staunchly pro-EU and anti-Brexit, regard students as a key constituency.

Meanwhile, even though the main opposition Labour Party abstained in Monday’s vote on a snap poll, their position appeared to be softening on Tuesday. Labour’s trade spokesman, Barry Gardiner, hinted his party could back a Dec. 9 election, telling BBC radio: “The first thing is to make sure that students are not disenfranchised by the date of the election.”

Hammond: Election Will Usher in Tory Hardliners (8:30 a.m.)
Former Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, who is still suspended from the party after defying Boris Johnson over Brexit, warned an election would usher in “hardliner” pro-Leave MPs to the Tory benches.

“I fear that the real narrative here is that the Vote Leave activists, the cohort that has seized control in Downing Street — and to some extent in the headquarters of the Conservative Party — wants this general election to change the shape of the Conservative Party in Parliament,” Hammond told BBC radio.

Hammond also disputed the government’s narrative that he and other expelled Tories, and MPs in general, are the ones blocking Brexit. The House of Commons voted in favor of the initial passage of Johnson’s Brexit bill before the government pulled the legislation over its failure to win backing for an accelerated timetable, Hammond said.

Rees-Mogg: No Plan to Bring Brexit Bill Back (Earlier)
In his business statement to Parliament late Tuesday, Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said the government wants to get the early election bill through all stages of the House of Commons on Tuesday.

He also said the government had no plan to bring back the Withdrawal Agreement Bill — the legislation that puts the Brexit deal into U.K. law — before Parliament breaks up for the election. That’s a key demand of the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party, who opened up the legislative route to an early election when they expressed willingness to vote for a snap poll, subject to Brexit not being concluded beforehand.

According to Tuesday’s House of Commons order paper, debate on the election bill is due to begin at 12:30 p.m. — subject to ministerial statements and urgent questions — and can continue “until any hour.”

Earlier:
Boris Johnson Won’t Give Up on Trying to Force a U.K. Election
Brexit Bulletin: Fourth Time Lucky?
Two Foreign Exchange Traders, Three Votes and a Brexit Meltdown

–With assistance from Caroline Alexander.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Kitty Donaldson in London at [email protected];
Jessica Shankleman in London at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Tim Ross at [email protected]
Stuart Biggs, Thomas Penny