A general election before Christmas is looking ever more likely as MPs face not one but two crucial votes on a fresh trip back to the polls.
The British public could face a general election on either December 9 or 12, despite the next one not technically due until 2022.
But why is it likely Parliament will need to vote more than once on whether to back a snap election?
And what is the difference between the two proposed dates which are just three days apart?
Here is what’s happening in the House of Commons at the start of this week, and why.
Why does the Prime Minister want a general election?
Boris Johnson is pushing for an early election to restore the Conservative Party’s ruling majority.
The Tories formed a minority government with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) following the last general election in 2017, but lost their working majority by one when MP Philip Lee defected to join the Liberal Democrats in September.
The PM hopes a general election could end the political stalemate over Brexit, because if his party regains a majority in the Commons, it will make it easier to pass his deal and any relevant legislation.
Haven’t MPs repeatedly rejected calls for an early election?
Yes. In September, the PM challenged opposition MPs to hold a snap election twice, but they rejected the motion both times.
So why is he asking for a fresh vote now?
Mr Johnson is trying to strike a deal with MPs: he will give them until November 6 to scrutinise, debate and possibly amend his Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB), but only if they grant an early general election on December 12.
It follows Parliament’s rejection of his fast-track three-day timetable to debate the WAB – the 134 page document that aims to put his Brexit deal into law – after they repeatedly insisted this was not enough time.
So are we definitely going to have an election before Christmas?
It looks likely but is by no means certain.
According to the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act (FTPA), the Government requires a two-thirds majority to secure a snap general election outside of the five-year election cycle.
This means he needs 434 MPs to vote for his early election motion, and is therefore relying on opposition backing.
Without Labour’s support he has next to no chance. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has not yet definitively ruled out supporting the motion, however, an email sent by Labour whips last week told MPs they would be asked to abstain on the vote.
Mr Corbyn and his allies have said they will only agree to an election if the PM commits to refusing to leave the EU unless a withdrawal agreement is secured.
The Labour leader has also said he would not take any decisions until the EU made clear the terms and length of the next Brexit delay.
On Monday morning, the bloc agreed to extend the Brexit deadline to January 2020.
When is the vote on the Prime Minister’s early election motion happening?
The motion will be put forward at 5.30pm this afternoon, according to the current House of Commons timetable.
MPs are expected to spend around 90 minutes considering the proposal before voting.
We should therefore see the result at around 7pm.
If the Government loses the vote, does that mean there won’t be an election before Christmas?
Not necessarily. If Labour opts not to back the election bid, there could still be another route to a general election – this time offered by the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP).
The two pro-Remain parties are set to put forward a tightly-drafted Bill on Tuesday that would suspend the FTPA, enabling them to impose a fresh general election on December 9.
Their FTPA suspension motion would only need a simple majority to pass rather than the two-thirds majority required for Mr Johnson's full-blown election motion – a total of 320 MPs instead of 435.
Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan called the plan a "stunt", and Labour's shadow secretary Jon Ashworth said it was "entirely ridiculous".
However, No 10 has suggested it could back the Bill if the Prime Minister’s own motion fails today.
"If Labour oppose being held to account by the people yet again, then we will look at all options to get Brexit done including ideas similar to that proposed by other opposition parties," a Government source said.
Why do pro-EU MPs want an election three days earlier than the PM's suggestion?
The Lib Dems want to run the next election as a proxy for a second EU referendum. They are expected to package the vote as the British public’s last chance to stop Brexit.
The SNP will make a similar rallying cry, although the party has to be careful not to alienate its supporters, some of whom want to leave the EU.
However, they take issue with the Government's proposed December 12 date for two key reasons.
Firstly, they fear that because it is so late in the year, Parliament wouldn’t return this side of 2019. Holding an election just a few days earlier means that Parliament could return in the last week of December rather than mid-January.
Secondly, an earlier election would cut in to legislative time that could be used to pass the PM's Brexit deal. A December 9 election would mean there would be no time to complete the passage of Mr Johnson's deal by the end of the year.
This would mean a definite Brexit delay.
Could votes for 16-year-olds be added to the Bill?
There has been talk of a united opposition using a short Bill to lower the eligible voting age to 16 - something ministers oppose.
But Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson used her appearance on the BBC's Andrew Marr show to pour refute the suggestion her party could add such an amendment at this point.
"I would love to see votes for 16... but I recognise that the time pressure we are under right now doesn't give us that luxury - January 31 isn't that far away," she said.
Labour, also in favour of lowering the voting age, would struggle to bring the amendment forward without Government support or the backing of the other main opposition parties.
Does all this mean the PM will get his pre-Christmas election?
Number 10 has suggested it could back the SNP-Lib Dem motion, however, it has also communicated some reluctance to back a Bill drawn up by two parties that want to stop Brexit altogether.
More likely is a compromise offer in which the Government sponsors its own Bill with near identical parameters and appeal to the Lib Dems and SNP to back it.
As one Downing Street insider put it, there is now a "gleam of light" in the struggle to break the Parliament logjam.
What do the bookies say about a general election?
December 2019 is now favoured on the Betfair Exchange as the most likely date of next election, with odds of 10/11.
An election in 2020 is now set at odds of 21/20.
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