UK opposition parties set to refuse Boris Johnson's demand for an early general election

A person wearing a Boris Johnson 'head' digs a grave at the foot of a tombstone during a protest organised by Avaaz and Best for Britain, outside Downing Street in London.

Stefan Rousseau - PA Images | PA Images | Getty Images

Labour and other U.K. opposition parties have agreed to defy British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's demand for a general election before the EU summit on October 17, according to multiple media reports.

The opposition parties said Friday that they planned to vote against or abstain in Monday's vote on whether to hold a snap vote.

The announcement comes at a time when Johnson is under immense pressure to deliver Brexit, with 55 days to go before the world's fifth-largest economy is scheduled to leave the European Union.

It remains a deeply divisive issue in the U.K., more than three years after a small but clear majority voted to leave the bloc.

Ahead of the October 31 Brexit deadline, the country appears poised for a range of options, including a snap election, a so-called "no-deal" Brexit scenario and possibly even abandoning the whole process altogether.

The news came just before confirmation from the British parliament's upper chamber, the House of Lords, that it had approved a bill which aims to block a no-deal Brexit at the end of October.

The legislation is expected to be signed into law on Monday.

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