British election campaign kicks off on no-Brexit day

A pro-Brexit supporter reacts in front of a screen advertising the Leader of Britain's Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson for the general election, near the Houses of Parliament in London

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LONDON (Reuters): On the day Britain was supposed to have left the European Union, voters instead faced the start of an election campaign, with Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pledging to overthrow a “rigged system” he said was run by billionaires and tax dodgers.

After failing to deliver Brexit by the 31 Oct. deadline, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the 12 Dec. election to break what he cast as a political paralysis that had thwarted Britain’s departure and undermined confidence in the economy.

Opinion polls suggest the election is Johnson’s to lose. His Conservative Party is leading Labour by 15 to 17 percentage points, according to IpsosMORI and YouGov. Yet the overshadowing issue of Brexit, which has divided both major parties and their voters, could confound conventional calculations.

While Brexit frames the election, with Labour pledging to hold a second referendum on it, it is being fought by two of the most unconventional British politicians of recent years who offer starkly different visions for the world’s fifth-largest economy.

In his first major speech of the campaign, Corbyn said the election was a once-in-a-generation chance to overthrow what he cast as a corrupt elite which profited by exploiting workers, lying to the public and polluting the environment.

“Together, we can pull down a corrupt system and build a fairer country that cares for all,” said Corbyn, a 70-year-old veteran socialist campaigner.

“Even if the rivers freeze over, we’re going out to bring about real change for the many, not the few,” Corbyn said.

Corbyn named prominent billionaires such as landowner Hugh Grosvenor, Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley, Ineos CEO Jim Ratcliffe, hedge fund manager Crispin Odey and U.S. media tycoon Rupert Murdoch as representatives of Britain’s “rigged system”.

He proposed nationalisation of rail, mail and water services and higher taxes on the bankers who have made London the pre-eminent international financial capital.

Ashley, one of the businessmen targeted by Corbyn, hit back, saying the Labour leader was “not only a liar but clueless.”

The first December election in Britain since 1923 will be one of the hardest to forecast in years. Brexit has variously fatigued, enthused and enraged voters while eroding loyalties to the two major parties.

IpsosMORI said the Conservatives were on 41% with Labour on 24%. But that still leaves a third of the electorate up for grabs – and voter poaching could decide the final result.