May hails ‘right decision’ as MPs clear way for general election on June 8
The PM said the country now has a “unity of purpose”.
Britain will go to the polls on June 8 after MPs cleared the way for an early general election in a House of Commons vote praised by Theresa May as “the right decision” in the national interest.
With Mrs May needing the support of 434 MPs – two thirds of all seats in the House of Commons – some 522 voted for the early election, with just 13 against.
Praising MPs for backing her during a stump speech in the north-west of England, the PM said: “It’s great to be here in Bolton, fresh from the House of Commons, fresh from winning a vote in the House of Commons, which has approved my decision to hold a general election on June 8.
“It’s the right decision, it’s in the national interest, and that’s what this election is about.
“It’s about providing the strong and stable leadership this country needs to take Britain through Brexit and beyond, it’s about strengthening our hand in the negotiations that lie ahead, and it’s about sticking to our plan for a stronger Britain that will enable us to secure that more stable and secure future for this country and take the right long-term decisions for the future.”
There was never any real doubt about Mrs May securing the backing needed to go to the country, with both Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn and Liberal Democrat Tim Farron saying they welcomed the election – though Scottish National Party MPs abstained in the vote.
But 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, while Mr Corbyn said voters should take the chance to make their judgment on the Conservative record on austerity and public service cuts.
In Bolton, Mrs May said the country now has a “unity of purpose” and a desire for the Government to “get on” with implementing Brexit and “making a success of it”.
While promising to run a “positive and optimistic campaign”, she said the choice at the election was between her “strong and stable leadership” or a “coalition of chaos” led by Mr Corbyn.
But as she spoke Mr Corbyn explicitly ruled out any post-election coalition with the SNP, insisting that he would not do a deal with Nicola Sturgeon’s party to forge a so-called “progressive alliance”, as hers was not a progressive party.
Earlier, Mr Corbyn dismissed Mrs May’s 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 than they were when the Conservatives came to power seven years ago. The election gives the British people the chance to change direction.”
Rejecting the PM’s claim that an election is needed to prevent disunity at Westminster undermining a Brexit deal, Mr Corbyn said: “There is no obstacle to the Government negotiating, but, instead of getting on with the job, she is painting herself as the prisoner of the Liberal Democrats.”
As the debate began, former chancellor George Osborne – who has recently been appointed editor of the London Evening Standard – announced he would not be standing for election on June 8. But he held out the prospect of a return to the political front line, saying he was leaving Westminster politics “for now”.
Meanwhile, former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg confirmed that he will fight to retain his Sheffield Hallam seat for the Liberal Democrats.
But Labour MP Gisela Stuart, one of the architects of Brexit as co-chair of Vote Leave, said she would be standing down after 20 years as MP for Birmingham Edgbaston.
