UK lawmakers overwhelmingly back June election

LONDON — British lawmakers have voted by a resounding 522 to 13 to back Prime Minister Theresa May’s call for a national election on June 8.

The result easily surpasses the two-thirds majority of the 650 lawmakers needed to trigger an early vote. There were also a number of abstentions.

May says holding an election in June, rather than as scheduled in 2020, will give the country “certainty and stability” as it negotiates its departure from the European Union.

May is hoping to gain a bigger majority in Parliament for her Conservatives, strengthening her negotiating hand with the EU.

The opposition Labour Party and Liberal Democrats say they welcome the chance to put their policies to voters, though the Scottish National Party says the election call is a cynical ploy.