The prime minister’s bid to hold a general election on 12 December has been defeated in the House of Commons.

MPs voted 299 to 70, short of the two-thirds majority needed, in favour of a snap election.

Mr Johnson is now expected to make a fresh attempt to drive legislation through the Commons which would only require a simple majority, and set aside the provisions of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act.

The prime minister required a two-thirds majority to trigger an election.

It comes after the Liberal Democrats and SNP indicated over the weekend that they would back such an approach if the poll was held on December 9.

More to follow

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