It’s happening! Britain WILL head to polls this winter as lawmakers vote for December 12 snap election
October 30, 2019, 9:00 am

It’s happening! Britain WILL head to polls this winter as lawmakers vote for December 12 snap election

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks in the House of Commons

UK MPs have voted for a pre-Christmas general election to take place on December 12. After multiple attempts by PM Boris Johnson to force a poll, he’s finally got his way in a bid to break the Brexit impasse.

Lawmakers in the House of Commons on Tuesday voted in favor of Johnson’s early parliamentary general election short-bill by 438 votes to 20. It will be the first December election since 1923.

MPs had earlier rejected the Labour Party’s proposal to move the date of the general election forward to December 9. Some 315 MPs voted against moving the election forward by three days, while 295 voted in favour. If MPs had backed the opposition plan to move the election forward, parliament would have needed to be dissolved by Thursday night.

The British prime minister had tried and failed to get an election on three previous occasions having seen his Fixed-term Parliaments Act motions defeated by MPs. Under the law, there must be at least 25 working days before an election can take place.

Britain’s parliament has ostensibly been in a state of paralysis over the past year, with both Johnson and his predecessor, Theresa May, failing to get their respective Brexit deals signed, sealed, and delivered.

Johnson is hedging his bets that his Tory Party can win a healthy majority to change the parliamentary arithmetic in his favor and, in his words, “get Brexit done.” However, Labour, led by Jeremy Corbyn, will be hoping that the election is not solely dominated by the issue of Brexit and that other key issues such as the NHS, education, and climate change will come to the fore.

The move to force a snap poll was triggered after the European Union granted the UK a three-month ‘flextension,’ with the new deadline now moved to January 31, ostensibly meaning Johnson could not deliver on his “do or die” Brexit pledge by October 31.

source:Reuters

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”