LONDON: Boris Johnson is to try again for a 12 December general election on Tuesday – despite MPs rejecting his plan.
The prime minister will publish a bill that would only need a simple majority to succeed – not two thirds as required in previous attempts.
But he would still need support from Lib Dems and the SNP for it to pass.
Johnson told MPs Parliament was “dysfunctional” and could “no longer keep this country hostage” but Labor said the PM could not be trusted.
The Commons backed the government’s election motion by 299 to 70 – well short of the two-thirds majority needed under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act.
All Conservative MPs backed the motion – but the vast majority of Labor MPs abstained, along with the SNP and DUP. All but one Lib Dem MPs voted against it.
The vote came after the PM officially accepted the EU’s offer of an extension to the Brexit process to 31 January.
In a letter to EU officials, Mr Johnson said the further three-month delay – which he insists was forced upon him by Parliament – was “unwanted”.
(Agencies)
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