Jeremy Corbyn was under pressure today from Labour MPs to delay backing a general election.

The Labour leader wants a national poll as soon as possible after the anti no-deal bill gets through Parliament. 

He is prepared to support Boris Johnson ’s calls for an election on October 15th despite a backlash from MPs. 

Mr Corbyn took some of his frontbenchers by surprise earlier this week by insisting he would be “delighted” to fight a poll.

The no-deal legislation is expected to clear the House of Lords by this Friday – and get royal assent on Monday. 

This would then clear the way for another vote on a general election which Mr Corbyn is likely at that stage to support.

His spokesman said: “The bill that is going to parliament today needs to pass. It needs to pass all its stages. 

“It needs to go through and have royal assent – and once we’re confident they can’t crash out and no deal is taken off the table for 31 October, we will support a general election.”

He added: “We want to have a general election as soon as possible and we believe that is the best way to settle not only this issue, but all the issues facing the country.”

But many Labour MPs are concerned that holding an early election would leave the door open to crashing out of the EU on October 31. 

They fear Mr Johnson could campaign on his Brexit “do or die” pledge and if he won a majority could ram through a no-deal departure.   

They were told at a meeting of backbenchers this morning that the party would back a post-Brexit general election as a result.

Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer told them: “We need to implement the bill- which necessarily means going beyond October”. 

He later suggested at the despatch box that Labour would not back an election until the bill was enacted.

“I can confirm we will not be voting with the Government tonight, and we will keep the focus on the task in hand, which is to ensure that we do not leave the EU without a deal, and that requires the passing and implementation of this act,” he said.

This would mean MPs voting for an election after October 19th – the date when a three month extension would be agreed if the Prime Minister has failed to agree a new deal with Brussels.

Senior Labour figures including shadow chancellor John McDonnell are said to be relaxed about allowing Mr Johnson to “limp on”.

They believe that the PM would be politically damaged – and therefore beatable – if he was unable to deliver on his Brexit by October 31 “do or die” pledge.

The Tory party could lose Leave voters to the Brexit Party as well as Remain support to the Lib Dems.

Mr McDonnell warned Mr Johnson was an “extremely slippery customer” who could not be relied on to stick to a general election date. 

“We want to get the legislation secure [with] royal assent but we are not going to be tricked or conned by Johnson, so we are looking at every way in which, having secured the legislation, that he can’t wriggle out of abiding by the law and implementing it,” he said.

“The range of options that Keir and the others are looking at include whether is it a matter of triggering an election after the royal assent and will that give us the security, so we are checking with the lawyers on that. 

“Or, is it implementation and again we are checking the law on that.”

Labour MP Clive Lewis added: “The sensible thing to do will be to say, ‘OK, we’ll have a general election, but we’ll do it after we have got the extension signed and sealed at the European Council [on October 17].

“In the meantime, let the Tories stew in their own juices, and implode.”

Mr Corbyn’s spokesman was asked why the Labour leader did not just wait to vote for an election to guarantee that no deal would be taken off the table and at the same time inflict damage on Mr Johnson. 

He suggested that Labour expected to be able to avoid a no deal departure by winning the election. 

“We’re confident the position of the Prime Minister is far more unstable in Parliament and in the country than he and his supporters seem to think,” he said. 

But many Labour backbenchers do not share his optimism – believing the party’s ambiguous Brexit position could lose it votes. 

One senior MP told the Mirror: “The strong & majority view is that an early election would allow Boris Johnson to pick the timing and tactics. To go now on his terms would see Labour lose – and lose badly”.

Mr Corbyn held a meeting with fellow opposition leaders this morning at which he told them he would support a general election – but only after the threat of a no-deal Brexit had been removed.

The Labour leader is also coming under pressure from the SNP , the third biggest party at Westminster, to push on with a vote. 

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “It’s starting to feel like Labour doesn’t want an election at all… and leaving this PM in place knowing he’ll try every trick in book to get what he wants would be irresponsible.

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