House of Commons gives official approval of Brexit

Feb. 8 (UPI) -- The beginning of the end of England as a member of the European Union drew closer Wednesday as the British House of Commons gave a second approval of a bill to move forward with the Brexit.

The lower house of Britain's Parliament overwhelmingly approved a bill for Prime Minister Theresa May to start the country's withdrawal from the E.U., with the House of Lord's expected to vote on the bill March 7. If the bill passes, May will be free to start the withdrawal process.

The bill was approved 494 to 122 by MPs after just seven hours of debate on amendments to the bill. The law will now go back to the upper house for a final vote before it can be signed into law.

"It has been a serious debate, a healthy debate, with contributions from MPs representing all parts of the UK, and I respect the strong views on all sides," said David Davis, secretary of state for Brexit. "The decision on EU membership has been made by the people we serve. It is now time for everyone, whichever way they voted in the referendum, to unite to make a success of the important task at hand for our country."

The House of Commons had its first vote on the bill, which contains just 137 words that authorize May to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, on Feb. 1, when MPs approved it on a vote just as lopsided as the second time.

While May had told members of Parliament she planned to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to start pulling England out of the E.U. by March 31 whether or not they'd approved a bill giving their consent, she received a court order that she could not proceed without legislative approval to do so.

Voters narrowly approved a move to pull England from the E.U. last year, triggering concerns throughout Europe about what such a split could do. But proponents of Brexit in Britain say it will help the economy of their country, as well as Europe overall.