BRITAIN’S House of Commons voted Tuesday night for a snap general election on Dec. 12, which is set to send the country to go to the polls for the first time in December in nearly 100 years.

More than 46 million people in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will take part in what will be the first December parliamentary election since 1923.

A bill to pave the way for the election won by a vote of 438 to 20 after a daylong debate in the House of Commons with lawmakers backing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call for an election.

Johnson called for a Dec. 12 polling day, but an opposition Labour amendment wanted to bring election day forward to Dec. 9. Labour lost their bid by 295 votes against 315, a major victory for Johnson, who has suffered repeated defeats in the House of Commons over his Brexit efforts.

The election is expected to focus mainly on Johnson’s Brexit deal to end Britain’s membership in the European Union on Jan. 31, or earlier if the new parliament backs the EU withdrawal legislation.

His bid for Brexit will come up against opposition party demands for a second referendum or scrapping Brexit altogether.  (Xinhua)