UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he wants a December election

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he wants members of parliament to agree to a general election being held on 12 December.

"The way to get Brexit done is, I think, to be reasonable to parliament," Johnson said in a televised statement.

"If they genuinely want more time to study [the Brexit deal] they can have it, but they have to agree to a general election on December 12. That's the way forward."

Because of the way the UK parliamentary system works, MPs would have until the end of 6 November to pass the Brexit deal into law.

Johnson said they could have as much parliamentary time as they wanted before then, but if the deal had not been passed by then, he would campaign for it in a December election and pass it into law if he won a majority in the election.

It is not straightforward for Johnson to call an election – he would need two-thirds of MPs (434) to back the move in a vote scheduled for Monday.

Opposition parties have so far refused to back an election because of what they see as the risk of a no-deal Brexit happening by accident during the election campaign.

No party has a majority in the House of Commons, with MPs also split over what form Brexit should take.

Currently, the UK is due to leave the European Union on 31 October, but MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit forced the government to ask the EU for a delay until 31 January. The EU is expected to agree to that request on Friday.

Johnson's plan for a December election is based on the assumption that the EU will agree to the delay to January.

(AFP)