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| Brexit: General election fight 'will be tough', PM says | Brexit: General election fight 'will be tough', PM says |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Boris Johnson has said he is ready to fight a "tough" general election after MPs voted for a 12 December poll. | Boris Johnson has said he is ready to fight a "tough" general election after MPs voted for a 12 December poll. |
| The legislation approved by MPs on Tuesday will later begin its passage through the House of Lords, where it is not expected to be opposed. | The legislation approved by MPs on Tuesday will later begin its passage through the House of Lords, where it is not expected to be opposed. |
| Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the snap poll gave a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to transform the country. | Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the snap poll gave a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to transform the country. |
| Writing in the Daily Mirror, he outlined his party's "ambitious and radical campaign for real change". | Writing in the Daily Mirror, he outlined his party's "ambitious and radical campaign for real change". |
| Mr Johnson hopes the election will give him a fresh mandate for his Brexit deal and break the current deadlock in Parliament, which has led to the UK's exit from the EU being further delayed to 31 January. | Mr Johnson hopes the election will give him a fresh mandate for his Brexit deal and break the current deadlock in Parliament, which has led to the UK's exit from the EU being further delayed to 31 January. |
| The prime minister told Conservative Party colleagues at a meeting of backbench MPs that it was time for the country to "come together to get Brexit done". | |
| "It'll be a tough election and we are going to do the best we can," he added. | "It'll be a tough election and we are going to do the best we can," he added. |
| The leaders of the UK's main two political parties will face off for Prime Minister's Questions at midday on Wednesday. | The leaders of the UK's main two political parties will face off for Prime Minister's Questions at midday on Wednesday. |
| The Lib Dems and the SNP both see the election as a chance to ask voters whether Brexit should happen at all. | |
| The pro-EU leader of the Lib Dems, Jo Swinson, has pitched herself as "the Liberal Democrat candidate for prime minister". | |
| "It is our best chance to elect a government to stop Brexit," she said. | |
| For the SNP, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said an election was an opportunity for Scotland to hold another independence referendum. | |
| "A win for the SNP will be an unequivocal and irresistible demand for Scotland's right to choose our own future," she said. | |
| The Scottish Conservatives claimed voting for their party would keep Scotland in the UK. | |
| Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage welcomed the election, tweeting that the deadlock had been broken and "Brexit now has a chance to succeed". | |
| When the House of Lords approves the election bill today then we will be on course for a 12 December winter election. | |
| It is set to be one of the most unpredictable and epic elections of modern times. | |
| Unpredictable, because Brexit totally overshadows it, but also because Brexit has totally reshaped our politics, too. | |
| The main parties can no longer rely on the traditional class party residual loyalty. Instead, we have an emerging sort of identity culture politics which has changed the game entirely. | |
| And epic in the sense that the sort of promises the two main parties are making are gargantuan huge spending promises. | |
| It is going to be a titanic contest. | |
| How did we get here? | How did we get here? |
| The government failed to get the two-thirds majority of votes required under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act when MPs voted on Monday on whether or not to hold an early general election. | The government failed to get the two-thirds majority of votes required under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act when MPs voted on Monday on whether or not to hold an early general election. |
| But on Tuesday Mr Johnson's team tabled a one-page bill to the Commons which needed the support of only a simple majority of MPs. | But on Tuesday Mr Johnson's team tabled a one-page bill to the Commons which needed the support of only a simple majority of MPs. |
| The Liberal Democrats and the SNP suggested 9 December as a suitable date for an election. They believed it would prevent Mr Johnson from pushing his Brexit plan through Parliament ahead of the poll. | The Liberal Democrats and the SNP suggested 9 December as a suitable date for an election. They believed it would prevent Mr Johnson from pushing his Brexit plan through Parliament ahead of the poll. |
| Mr Corbyn confirmed Labour would back an election on 9 December, although some of his colleagues expressed misgivings over the timing of the election - believing only another referendum can settle the Brexit question for good. | Mr Corbyn confirmed Labour would back an election on 9 December, although some of his colleagues expressed misgivings over the timing of the election - believing only another referendum can settle the Brexit question for good. |
| However, Labour's amendment to change the date of the proposed election from 12 to 9 December was rejected and MPs voted to back the government's original bill by 438 votes to 20. | However, Labour's amendment to change the date of the proposed election from 12 to 9 December was rejected and MPs voted to back the government's original bill by 438 votes to 20. |
| More than 100 Labour MPs did not take part or abstained in Tuesday's crucial vote, while 11 voted against an election. A total of 127 Labour MPs, including Mr Corbyn, supported the election. | More than 100 Labour MPs did not take part or abstained in Tuesday's crucial vote, while 11 voted against an election. A total of 127 Labour MPs, including Mr Corbyn, supported the election. |
| The bill, approved by MPs, paves the way for the first December election since 1923. | The bill, approved by MPs, paves the way for the first December election since 1923. |