Will a UK “Halloween Brexit” instead become a “Nightmare Before Christmas” election? With just days to go before the October 31, 11pm GMT deadline for the country to leave the European Union, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson will on Monday try for a third time to persuade MPs to break the Brexit deadlock by voting to go to the polls on December 12. Under UK election regulations, that means Parliament would have to go into recess at least 25 working days before polling day to allow for campaigning. In the political game of chess that Brexit has become, Monday’s vote was to come as the other 27 EU nations decide whether to give the UK another Brexit extension, possibly up until January 31, 2020. A leaked draft of an EU agreement granting a three-month extension was seen by The Guardian , it reported Monday. It is easy to draw parallels between the plot of director Tim Burton’s animated 1993 classic Nightmare Before Christmas and the antics of Johnson, who has already spent £100 million (US$128 million) on advertising to prepare the UK for a “no deal” crash out. In the Burton film, Jack Skellington, the main protagonist and Halloweentown’s pumpkin king, gets bored with frightening people. He then stumbles on Christmastown, and falls for the bright lights and glowing warmth, and plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But he soon discovers even the best laid plans can go awry. Critics say Johnson is proposing December 12 as the date to go to the polls to avoid parliamentary scrutiny over his highly controversial Brussels deal, which among other things has riled the Conservatives’ former ally, Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party (DUP) and raised fears worker’s rights could be shelved. Can UK’s Liberal Democrats stop Brexit? Moreover, by holding it after term has ended, most students, who in general tend to support EU membership and would not vote for the government, would have left their student digs where they are on the electoral register to go home. Johnson’s election bid may fail because under the 2011 Fixed Term Parliament Act, a move to a general election requires a two thirds parliamentary majority, which he is unlikely to obtain. Labour, the largest opposition party has ruled out a general election until a “no deal” Brexit has been definitively taken off the menu. In a surprise move on Sunday the two largest anti-Brexit parties in the House of Commons, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party (SNP), said they too supported an election to break the impasse, and proposed an amendment to the 2011 act to allow an election to be called on a simple majority vote. The catch would be the election would have to be held on December 9, and it would be cancelled if the EU agrees to a three-month extension. “For all his bluster, Johnson would much prefer to fight an election with Brexit already ‘delivered’” tweeted Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the SNP. “An election now would instead force him to explain his failure to keep his 31 October ‘do or die’ promise and also defend his bad deal.” Johnson had previously said he would “rather be dead in a ditch” than miss the Halloween Brexit deadline. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Lib Dem/SNP plan was a “stunt” and that the possibility of a “no deal” Brexit had to be completely removed due “to the danger to economy to jobs to trade to medicine supplies”. Faced with many “Leave” constituencies with MP’s from his party, Corbyn, a left-winger has been accused of not fighting the EU cause enough and has seen his popularity sink since his surprisingly good, but not victorious, show in the 2017 election. Jeremy Corbyn: Britain’s saviour or great white nope? “I totally get the frustration with Jeremy Corbyn but this move feels to be more about electoral politics against him than a thought through strategy to stop Brexit and defeat Jeremy Corbyn,” said leading anti-Brexit campaigner Alistair Campbell, who is also the former communications guru of Tony Blair. The parliamentary Labour Party is divided on whether to hold a snap election, and even if they were told by the leadership to vote against it, some may be tempted to defy the whip. Many prominent Conservatives, and ex-Conservatives (now independent) also don’t want an election yet if it means they would lose their job before Yuletide. According to some newspaper reports, Johnson, confident his “people versus parliament” approach could bring him victory at the ballot box, could back the SNP and Lib Dems amendment in order to enable a December vote. Even if that happens, the prospect of another general election, in the cold and the dark, against the backdrop of Christmas carols and festive shopping stress, is likely to ring out anything but joy among the Brexit-weary public. Given the deep divisions that have grown and hardened, there is a real possibility of serious political unrest, and even violence – not a good look in the season of goodwill. According to a survey published last week by Cardiff University and the University of Edinburgh around 70 per cent of “Leavers” replied the possibility of violence against MPs was a “price worth paying” for Brexit to be delivered and more than 50 per cent among those who voted to remain in the 2016 referendum. Both the Brexit Party and the Liberal Democrats could make big gains, resulting in another hung parliament, delivering even less to celebrate come New Year’s Eve than last year.