Members of the United Kingdom Parliament voted in favour of allowing the government to begin the process of Brexit, clearing a major hurdle for the course of Britain leaving the European Union.
According to CNN, Members of the House of Commons on Wednesday voted by 498 to 114 to advance the bill that would give Prime Minister Theresa May the authority to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty -- the formal process of leaving the EU.
The size of majority siding with triggering Article 50 means the bill is almost certain to become law, however, a major clash is expected next week when the bill returns to the House of Commons for detailed scrutiny, as the Opposition will try to push through a series of amendments.
May has said she wants to fire the Brexit starting gun by the end of March.
The Prime Minister told the House of Commons that she would publish her detailed plan for Brexit in the form of a "white paper" on Thursday.
The vote came after two days of debate that exposed divisions within the ruling Conservative party and the main opposition Labour party.
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, May said MPs had a responsibility to respect the result of the June 2016 referendum, when Britain voted to leave the EU by 52% to 48%.
"We gave the right of judgment on this issue to the British people," she said. "They made their choice, they want to leave the EU.
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