London: The UK on Thursday went into what Downing Street has branded as the first day of a general election campaign, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson failing to get his motion for a snap poll through the House of Commons.
Following a night of blow after blow over Brexit on Wednesday, Johnson is determined to get his October 15 election date through and has accused Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of being a “chicken” for his party's abstention from the election vote in Parliament.
The Labour and other Opposition parties, refused to hand him the two-thirds majority he requires to overturn the UK's Fixed Term Parliament Act until their own motion to block a no-deal Brexit by the October 31 deadline has passed through the Lords and on course to become law.
Meanwhile, Jo Johnson, the brother of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, quit as a Member of Parliament (MP) on Thursday over "unresolvable tension" between "family loyalty and the national interest".
By Aditi Khanna
