MPs have voted in favour of holding a snap general election on June 8.The House of Commons voted 522 to 13, backing Theresa May’s call for an early poll in less than two months’ time.The prime minister needed just 434 MPs – two thirds of the house – to meet the terms of the Fixed Term Parliament Act to bring the election forward from the scheduled date of 2020.The Conservative leader has said a fresh endorsement from the electorate would strengthen her hand in Brexit talks and provide greater certainty.Jeremy Corbyn supported the idea of an early election but nine Labour MPs did not back the plans, including Lis McInnes and Fiona Mactaggart.Three Independent MPs and SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell also voted against. </s> Prime Minister Theresa May has this morning called a snap general election. Here is everything you need to know.

The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 provides for general elections to be held on the first Thursday in May every five years. However, a snap general election is an election called earlier than expected.

What happens next?

The snap general election can only go ahead if two thirds of MPs vote in favour of it. The vote is due to take place on the House of Commons tomorrow.

When will the general election be held?

If approved in Parliament, the general election will be held on June 8.

Have snap general elections been held before?

Yes, on nine previous occasions. The most recent was in 1979, held six months before the deadline. It was called when the Labour government of James Callaghan narrowly lost a confidence motion. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher, then defeated the Labour government. </s> Prime Minister Theresa May has called a snap election for June 8.

Here is Mrs May's full statement made outside 10 Downing Street at 11am this morning.

"I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet, where we agreed that the Government should call a general election, to be held on June 8.

"I want to explain the reasons for that decision, what will happen next and the choice facing the British people when you come to vote in this election.

"Last summer, after the country voted to leave the European Union, Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership, and since I became prime minister the Government has delivered precisely that.

"Despite predictions of immediate financial and economic danger, since the referendum we have seen consumer confidence remain high, record numbers of jobs, and economic growth that has exceeded all expectations.

"We have also delivered on the mandate that we were handed by the referendum result.

"Britain is leaving the European Union and there can be no turning back.

"And as we look to the future, the Government has the right plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe.

"We want a deep and special partnership between a strong and successful European Union and a United Kingdom that is free to chart its own way in the world.

"That means we will regain control of our own money, our own laws and our own borders and we will be free to strike trade deals with old friends and new partners all around the world.

"This is the right approach, and it is in the national interest. But the other political parties oppose it.

"At this moment of enormous national significance there should be unity here in Westminster, but instead there is division.

"The country is coming together, but Westminster is not.

"In recent weeks Labour has threatened to vote against the deal we reach with the European Union.

"The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business of government to a standstill.

"The Scottish National Party say they will vote against the legislation that formally repeals Britain's membership of the European Union.

"And unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us every step of the way.

"Our opponents believe that because the Government's majority is so small, our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change course.

"They under-estimate our determination to get the job done and I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country."

The Fixed-Term Parliaments Act means the snap general election can only happen if two-thirds of MPs vote for it in the Commons. The vote is due to be held tomorrow. </s> LONDON
• British lawmakers yesterday overwhelmingly backed Prime Minister Theresa May's call for a snap election, paving the way for a June vote that she hopes will give her a "mandate to complete Brexit".

Mrs May surprised allies and opponents on Tuesday when she announced her plan to bring forward an election that was not due until 2020, saying she needed to avoid a clash of priorities in the sensitive final stages of the two-year Brexit talks, reported Reuters.

After addressing a rowdy session of the House of Commons, Mrs May won the support of 522 lawmakers in the 650-seat Parliament for an election on June 8, an easy victory for the Prime Minister, who could see her majority increase by at least 100 seats in the poll.

"I believe that, at this moment of enormous national significance, there should be unity here in Westminster, not division," Mrs May told Parliament. "A general election will provide the country with five years of strong and stable leadership to see us through the negotiations and ensure we are able to go on to make a success as a result, and that is crucial."

In a sign of the key campaign issues ahead, Mrs May traded barbs in the Commons with opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose party is deeply divided and languishing up to 20 points behind the Conservatives, reported Agence France-Presse. Mr Corbyn accused the government of "broken promises" on health, education and the economy during its seven years in office. Mrs May hit back that Labour offered only "bankruptcy and chaos", but denied she was complacent, saying: "We will be out there fighting for every vote."
• Critics say snap elections have mainly been used by British leaders to hold early votes when it benefited their own parties. In response to that criticism, the then ruling coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats passed the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act in 2011 to prevent future snap elections from being used as a political tool. Under that law, general elections are supposed to be held on a regular five-year schedule, with the next vote due in 2020. Technically, there are now only two ways to call early elections. The House of Commons can pave the way for an early vote by approving it with a two-thirds majority, or it can defeat the prime minister in a vote of confidence and have that result stand for two weeks.

Labour's top ranks convened an emergency meeting after Mrs May's announcement on Tuesday, where Mr Corbyn told MPs he did not underestimate the task ahead, but "let's get out there".

Several Labour lawmakers told The Guardian they felt their leader was too hasty in supporting a snap election based on Mrs May's terms and in a climate of national instability because of Brexit.

In a worrying sign for Labour, three of its MPs have already announced they will not stand again.

Former British finance minister George Osborne, a Conservative who is a key opponent of Brexit, also said yesterday he was quitting Parliament, but would "go on fighting" for Britain as editor of London's Evening Standard newspaper. "I am stepping down from the House of Commons - for now," he wrote in a letter to his constituents.

For Scotland's First Minister, Ms Nicola Sturgeon, the move was a "huge political miscalculation" that could help the Scottish National Party's (SNP's) efforts to hold an independence vote, reported Reuters. "If the SNP wins this election in Scotland and the Tories (Conservatives) don't, then Theresa May's attempt to block our mandate to give the people of Scotland a choice over their own future when the time is right will crumble to dust," she said.

The president of the European Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, believes "real" Brexit talks will only start after British snap elections, an EU spokesman said yesterday. Mr Juncker had spoken to Mrs May on Tuesday after her call for early elections.

The spokesman noted that this did not mean there will be a delay in Brexit talks, "because negotiations were meant to start in June regardless of the UK government's decision to call an election on the 8th".

May can secure her mandate on Europe

Brexit gambit clever but not smart </s> MPs have given the go-ahead to a snap General Election on June 8 after a Commons vote.

Theresa May announced her intention to have an early election on Tuesday in a surprise move to boost backing for Brexit.

And, on Wednesday, MPs overwhelmingly backed the election by 522 voted to 13.

It meant Ms May easily got the support of two-thirds of MPs needed under the Fixed Term Parliament Act to bring the poll forward from the scheduled date of 2020.

Both Labour's Jeremy Corbyn and Liberal Democrat Tim Farron saying they welcomed the election - though Scottish National Party MPs abstained in the vote.

However, there was deep division over the issues which should decide the election's outcome, with Mrs May casting the poll as an opportunity to secure "strong and stable leadership" for Britain as it forges a new position outside the European Union.

Mr Corbyn, meanwhile, said voters should take the chance to make their judgement on the Conservative record on austerity and public service cuts.

Telling MPs it was time to "put our fate in the hands of the people and let the people decide", Mrs May told the House of Commons: "We are determined to bring stability to the United Kingdom 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."

A large majority for the Tories would strengthen the Government's hand in negotiating a good Brexit deal and provide "strong and stable leadership in the national interest", she said.

But Mr Corbyn dismissed her argument that she needs a fresh mandate to deliver Brexit, and said it was "extremely interesting" that she had chosen to call an election as the Crown Prosecution Service prepares to decide whether to press charges against a string of Tory MPs over allegations relating to 2015 general election expenses.

He said Mrs May's U-turn on her previous insistence that she would not call a snap election showed she could not be trusted.

And he told MPs: "We welcome the opportunity of a general election because it gives the British people the chance to vote for a Labour government that will put the interests of the majority first.

"The Prime Minister talks about a strong economy, but the truth is most people are worse off then they were when the Conservatives came to power seven years ago. The election gives the British people the chance to change direction.” </s> LONDON: British lawmakers on Wednesday (Apr 19) overwhelmingly backed Prime Minister Theresa May's call for a snap election, paving the way for a June vote she hopes will give her a "mandate to complete Brexit".

The House of Commons voted by 522 to 13 to hold a general election on Jun 8 - plunging Britain back into political uncertainty just weeks before the start of negotiations on leaving the European Union.

May stunned the country on Tuesday when she announced her plan for an early vote, despite having repeatedly said she would wait until the next election scheduled in 2020.

In fiery exchanges in the House of Commons on Wednesday, May said an early election would strengthen her hand against domestic critics seeking to "frustrate the process" of Brexit, which formally began last month.

"I will be asking the British people for a mandate to complete Brexit and to make a success of it," the Conservative leader said, to cheers from her lawmakers sitting behind her.

Riding high in the opinion polls, May is seeking to increase her slim majority of 17 in the 650-seat Commons before the battles begin with the EU over Britain's exit bill and future trade and immigration ties.

She insists an early election would provide "certainty and stability" in the negotiations, which will now start after the vote.

In a sign of the key campaign issues ahead, May traded barbs in the Commons with opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose party is deeply divided and languishing up to 20 points behind the Conservatives.

Corbyn accused the government of "broken promises" on health, education and the economy during its seven years in office.

May hit back that Labour offered only "bankruptcy and chaos", but denied she was complacent, saying: "We will be out there fighting for every vote."

British elections are fixed in law but can be changed with a two-thirds majority in the Commons - a threshold easily passed during Wednesday's vote.

All sides are now gearing up for the fourth major election in four years, after last June's shock referendum vote for Brexit, the 2015 general election, and the 2014 Scottish independence vote.

Brexit will dominate the campaign, with May - who took office after David Cameron resigned following the EU vote - seeking public backing for her plan to pull Britain out of Europe's single market.

A European Commission spokesman said the "real political" negotiations on Brexit will start after the election.

Three weekend opinion polls put the Conservatives about 20 points ahead of Labour, and if translated into votes, this could give May an "election landslide" with a majority of more than 100, according to an analysis by The Times.

May, Britain's second female prime minister, also has strong popular support for her handling of the political earthquake unleashed by Brexit.

By contrast Labour is wracked by divisions, over Brexit and Corbyn's left-wing leadership, which is opposed by many of his more centrist MPs.

So far, Labour's stance on Brexit has been to allow the government to go ahead with the EU divorce, but only under certain conditions, such as retaining strong economic ties with the bloc.

That approach risks satisfying neither its traditional working-class supporters, many of whom backed leaving the EU, or its urban, pro-European members - leaving many commentators predicting an electoral bloodbath.

Three Labour MPs have already announced they will not stand again. Former Conservative finance minister George Osborne, a powerful voice in favour of Britain's EU membership during the referendum campaign, also said he would not seek re-election.

The smaller Liberal Democrats, who lost most of their seats in 2015 after entering coalition with the Conservatives, are hoping to capitalise on their strong support for the EU to win new support.

Meanwhile the Scottish National Party, which holds most of the seats in Scotland, is pushing its demands for a second referendum on independence in order to maintain close ties with the EU.

"Make no mistake, if the SNP wins this election in Scotland - and the Tories don't - then Theresa May's attempt to block our mandate to hold another referendum when the time is right, will crumble to dust," SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.

Like almost everyone else in Britain, the election announcement caught financial markets off guard, amid concerns of the economic implications of Brexit.

The pound rallied on speculation that May will be returned with a stronger mandate, but this caused London's FTSE 100 index - which features many multinationals earning in dollars - to fall. </s> The counting for the United Kingdom general election started on Friday early morning. As initial numbers pour in, the Labour Party have won 154 and was a little ahead of the Conservatives who has bagged 140 so far.

The Labours have managed to retain their seats in Newcastle Central, Houghton, Sunderland South, Birmingham Ladywood, Manchester Central, and Cambridge among others. The Conservatives won seats in Uxbridge, Copeland, Chesham, Ribble Valley, Norwich North and Cleethorpeks among others.

According to BBC exit poll, the Conservatives are predicted to win 322 seats against the Labour Party’s 261. Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats are expected to win 32 and 13 seats, respectively. There were 76 seats which were being too close to call, the BBC poll said. Other opinion polls had earlier suggested that the Conservatives would take a lead and retain control of Parliament. However, a day before the election day, the Labour Party managed to narrow the gap.

More than 46.9 million electorate from across England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland voted to pick 650 MPs from over 3,300 candidates. The final results are expected by Friday afternoon. To form a majority in the House of Commons, a party has to win 326 seats.

The incumbent prime minister, Theresa May, is competing against the Labour Party’s Jeremy Corbyn. In the 2015 elections, the Conservatives held 331 seats, the Labour Party bagged 232, the Scottish National Party had 56 and Liberal Democrat won 8 seats.

Following the early election results, the pound fell sharply as the market had expected a clear victory for May. Sterling fell as low as $1.27, reported BBC. At 1.30 am, the pound even hit a new low of $1.2696. However, it started to recover a little as Conservatives made gains in Scotland, The Telegraph reported.

“It is fair to say markets had been a little complacent about this result,” a senior analyst at ETX Capital, Neil Wilson, told BBC. “If the election results in a hung parliament, the pound could fall as low as $1.25 on Friday.”

On April 18, May had called for a snap election three years earlier than scheduled, saying it would help Britain make a smooth exit from the European Union. The last few weeks of campaigning have been marred with national security concerns with the country facing successive attacks claimed by militant groups.

On the night of June 3, a van drove into people near the London Bridge, killing eight people and injuring several. Two weeks before that 22 people had died in a suicide bombing at a concert in Manchester. In March 2017, a man had mowed people down with his vehicle on the Westminster bridge while heading to the Parliament building. At least 40 others were injured in the incident. </s> Voters in Britain cast their ballots on Thursday for the elections, as the political deadlock over the UK's withdrawal from the bloc continues.

Voting began at 7 a.m. and vote stations were set to close at 10 p.m. (local time). The announcement of results will begin on Sunday night, after the rest of the member states have gone to the polls over the next three days.

Britain is split into 12 regions for the elections, including 9 in England and one each in Scotland, and British voters will elect 73 members to the (MEPs) out of the 751 for a term that starts on July 2, the reported.

The election was being held in a climate of widespread voter apathy over the uncertainty surrounding Brexit as the has rejected Theresa May's deal three times and there had been calls for a second referendum.

The results from Britain will show whether the newly launched Brexit Party, founded by veteran eurosceptic Nigel Farage, will win the largest number of the 73 British seats in the as is forecast.

In Liverpool, England, retired said she would vote for opposition

Roy said she had considered spoiling her ballot paper. "But upon reflection, I have decided I must vote (for) Labour, mainly because I trust them, more than any other party, to deliver Brexit."

Roy, who voted to leave in the 2016 referendum, said, "More than anything else, I want this issue sorted so that we can address the issues, which are running down our country."

Initially, the were not planned as Britain prepared to leave the EU on March 29. But at the European summit in April, the and the agreed to delay Brexit until October 31.

The UK is obligated to participate in the as it is still a member of the EU. But it's uncertain for how long British MEPs will continue because of the uncertainties over Brexit.

The are the 9th time Britain has elected MEPs to the European Parliament.

Theresa May's in the European Parliament have 18 seats, the same as Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, followed by with 14 seats, which earlier belonged to the

The rest of the seats are held by others, including two of Nicola Sturgeon's and one of Vince Cable's </s> Spain's prime minister on Friday called a snap general election and revealed the date as April 28, paving the way for the beginning of campaigning.

Pedro Sánchez, 46, of the Socialist Party, said he was asking for parliament to dissolve and for the elections to be held one month ahead of regional elections in the country.
The United Kingdom House of Commons approves by 522 votes to 13 a snap general election to be held on June 8.