MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The UK House of Commons voted in a third and final reading on Wednesday in favour of a bill empowering the country’s government to trigger Article 50 of the EU Lisbon Treaty to begin the process of leaving the bloc.
Members of parliament backed the government's European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill by a vast margin of 494 to 122.
Earlier in the day, the lawmakers debated and voted on amendments to the bill.
The bill will now pass to the House of Lords.
Also, the House of Commons rejected Amendment 43 to the Brexit bill implying holding the referendum on the character of future relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
“Before exercising the power under section 1, the Prime Minister must prepare and publish a report on the process for ratifying the United Kingdom’s new relationship with the European Union through a public referendum,” the rejected Amendment 43 read.
A total of 340 lawmakers voted against the amendment while only 33 supported it.
