JEREMY Corbyn and Boris Johnson both made pledges to fix the Brexit issue as they hit the campaign trail and began to set out the battle-lines for the pre-Christmas election.

The Labour leader promised to "get Brexit sorted" in six months as he accused the Prime Minister - on the day of his “do-or-die” pledge to see Britain leave the EU went unfulfilled - of being solely to blame for the departure delay.

For his part, Mr Johnson – who today marks 100 days of his premiership - insisted he had an “oven-ready deal” that could be “put…in the microwave as soon as we get back after the election on Friday December 12”.

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During a visit to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, the PM was determined to point the finger of blame at a Parliament dominated by Remain-supporting MPs.

"There are just too many people who are basically opposed to Brexit, who want to frustrate it," he declared, stressing: "It was the mandate of the people. They voted by a pretty substantial majority to do this and Parliament has simply stood in their way."

He added that if MPs voted for his new withdrawal agreement, then Britain could be out of the EU “at the absolute latest by January next year".

The early skirmishes came as an Ipsos Mori poll gave the Conservatives a 17-point lead, placing them on 41 points, Labour on 24, the Liberal Democrats on 20 and the Brexit Party on just seven.

Nigel Farage dismissed as “idle speculation” suggestions his party was seriously considering withdrawing candidates in hundreds of seats to concentrate resources on just a small number of Labour-held seats in northern England.

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John Longworth, the Brexit Party MEP, said: “We ought to be targeted in terms of the number of seats that we decide to address.

“I can imagine that might be 20 or 30. They would be entirely winnable…if you poured all your resources into them. You probably would not get any more if you concentrated on the 600. But you would also get a better result for Brexit too,” he added.

While details of the Brexit Party’s election strategy could come today, such a mooted move might prove highly significant and ease the Prime Minister’s path to retaining power in Downing St.

Earlier at Battersea Arts Centre in London, Mr Corbyn set out his party’s core election message to around 400 enthusiastic and vociferous supporters at Labour’s election campaign launch.

Branding the Tories as the “Establishment elite,” who believed they were born to rule, he said: “They’ll fight harder and dirtier than ever before. They’ll throw everything at us because they know we’re not afraid to take them on.

“So we’re going after the tax dodgers, we’re going after the dodgy landlords, we’re going after the bad bosses, we’re going after the big polluters. Because we know whose side we’re on…A Labour government will be on your side; together, we can pull down a corrupt system and build a fairer country that cares for all.”

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In his speech, the Labour leader pledged policies on minimum wages rises, house-building, ending rough sleeping, re-nationalising "rail, mail and water" and ending the climate crisis.

Promising the “biggest people-powered campaign in history,” he declared: “When Labour wins, the nurse wins, the pensioner wins, the student wins, the office worker wins, the engineer wins. We all win.”

Mr Corbyn declined to say whether he would step down if Labour lost the December 12 election, insisting: “It’s not about me” but he added: "I love doing this job."

On Brexit, the party leader argued that the only way to resolve the matter was through a second referendum.

"We need to take it out of the hands of the politicians and trust the people to have the final say. Labour will get Brexit sorted within six months. We'll let the people decide whether to leave with a sensible deal or Remain. That really isn't complicated."

Last night, the campaign took a new twist when Donald Trump made an unexpected intervention, which will be seized on by both the Tories and Labour.

The US President made clear he wished that Mr Johnson and Nigel Farage would team up to form an "unstoppable force". He urged them to "get together" in the election campaign.

Describing them as "two brilliant people", Mr Trump appeared to call for them to form a pact.

In an interview with the Brexit Party leader on LBC radio, the President said: "I would like to see you and Boris get together because you would really have some numbers, because you did fantastically in the election, the last election.

"He has a lot of respect and like for you. I just wish you two guys could get together; it would be a great thing."

Mr Farage replied: "Well I tell you what, if he drops this dreadful deal, fights the General Election on the basis that we just want to have trade with Europe but no political influence, do you know what? I would be right behind him."

Mr Trump told the MEP: "When you are the President of the United States, you have great relationships with many of the leaders, including Boris, he's a fantastic man, and he's the exact right guy for the times.

"And I know that you and him will end up doing something that could be terrific if you and he get together as, you know, an unstoppable force."

During the wide-ranging interview, Mr Trump also spoke about Theresa May and said he "liked her very much", adding: "I disagreed with certain things that she did. I told her exactly how to make the deal. But she didn't listen to me. She could have made a great deal."

Chuka Umunna for the Liberal Democrats responded by saying Mr Trump was unfit to be President and Mr Johnson unfit to be PM.

“This endorsement is yet another example of the cuddly relationship between the two men. As the saying goes, you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep.”

Branding Mr Trump a bully, a misogynist and a racist, the Lib Dem Foreign Affairs spokesman noted: “Yet the Conservatives have fawned to secure a post-Brexit trade deal with him. A trade deal that would threaten food standards and our precious NHS.

“Liberal Democrats will continue to stand up to regressive politics and will continue to fight to stop Brexit and build a brighter future,” he added.

Earlier, the Liberal Democrats launched their campaign slogan “build a brighter future” displayed on on a van, which drove around Parliament Square. However, at one point it was forced to stop by a crowd of Leave supporters.