LET BATTLE BEGIN! Britain heads to the polls on June 8 as MPs back Theresa May’s election
MPs have overwhelmingly backed Theresa May’s call for an early general election – with British voters now set to head to the polls on June 8.
By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL REPORTER
Express.co.uk
Wed, Apr 19, 2017
In a House of Commons vote, 522 MPs supported the Prime Minister’s call for a snap election including 325 Tory MPs, 174 Labour MPs and eight Liberal Democrat MPs.
Only 13 MPs opposed Mrs May, including nine Labour MPs and three independents.
The SNP’s 54 MPs abstained in today’s vote with party leader Nicola Sturgeon having blasted Mrs May’s decision to push for an early election.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister stunned the country by performing a U-turn on her previous claim she would not press for a general election prior to May 2020.
In 2010, former prime minister David Cameron introduced the Fixed-Terms Parliament Act which means Mrs May had to gain the support of two-thirds of MPs in order to push through an election before 2020.
The House of Commons this afternoon spent little over an hour debating whether to back the Prime Minister’s call and override the Act before voting on Mrs May’s motion.
Outlining her desire for an early election, Mrs May had told MPs: “We are determined to bring stability to the UK for the long term and that’s what this election will be about – leadership and stability.
“The decision facing the country will be clear.
“I will be campaigning for strong and stable leadership in the national interest with me as Prime Minister and I will be asking for the public’s support to continue to deliver my plan for a stronger Britain, to lead the country for the next five years and to give the certainty and stability that we need.”
There are now seven weeks until the British public chooses a new Parliament.
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