The 2017 UK election explained: What happens now and how the UK got here - TomoNews

LONDON — The UK will hold a surprise election this June. British Prime Minister Theresa May led calls for one earlier this week, and lawmakers voted in favor of the ballot on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The election comes as a surprise because UK law stipulates that each elected government should hold power for a fixed five-year term before another election can occur. The current Conservative administration was elected in May 2015, with the next public ballot scheduled for May 2020. For an early election to occur, two-thirds of the 650 UK lawmakers need to vote in favor of it. On Wednesday 522 voted for it to go ahead, Reuters reported. The unelected May took over from ex-PM David Cameron after the public voted for Brexit in a referendum last June. She hopes the election will give her a mandate and nullify post-Brexit vote divisions among the British electorate, but the move could cripple the already very unpopular opposition Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn. The parliament consists of 650 seats, of which the Conservatives hold 330 and Labour holds 229. Other seats are held by smaller parties. Because of Labour’s unpopularity, May is expected to win even more seats. ---------------------------------------­-------------------- Go to   / tomonews   and become a Patron now TomoNews is now on Patreon and we've got some cool perks for our hardcore fans. TomoNews is your best source for real news. We cover the funniest, craziest and most talked-about stories on the internet. Our tone is irreverent and unapologetic. If you’re laughing, we’re laughing. If you’re outraged, we’re outraged. We tell it like it is. And because we can animate stories, TomoNews brings you news like you’ve never seen before. Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.com Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter See a story that should be animated? Tell us about it! Suggest a story here: http://bit.ly/suggest-tomonews Stay connected with us here: Facebook   / tomonewsus   Twitter @tomonewsus   / tomonewsus   Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/ Instagram @tomonewsus   / tomonewsus   ~-~~-~~~-~~-~ Please watch: "Crying dog breaks the internet’s heart — but this sad dog story has a happy ending"    • Video   ~-~~-~~~-~~-~