Britain's new parliament on Friday initially approved a revised EU
divorce deal that sets up a high-stakes clash with Brussels over their
future ties.
The 358 to 234 vote paves the way for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to deliver on his winning general election promise to "get Brexit done" by January 31.
But it also pushes Britain and the remaining 27 European Union member states closer to another cliff edge that could end decades of unfettered trade when the post-Brexit transition period shuts at the end of 2020.
A snap poll last week gave Johnson's pro-Brexit Conservatives a commanding majority of 365 seats in the 650-member lower House of Commons.
The main opposition Labour party - out of power since 2010 and riven by internal conflicts over Britain's place in the world - was relegated to its worst defeat since 1935.
Johnson's triumph dispelled any doubts over whether Britain would follow through on the results of its 2016 referendum and become the first nation to leave the bloc, ending almost half a century of EU membership.
"Now is the time to act together as one reinvigorated nation, one United Kingdom, filled with renewed confidence in our national destiny and determined at last to take advantage of the opportunities that now lie before us," Johnson told lawmakers ahead of the vote.
"It will be done. It will be over. The sorry story of the last three and a half years will be at an end and we will be able to move forward."
The government hopes to hold a final vote on Johnson's separation terms on January 9.
The 358 to 234 vote paves the way for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to deliver on his winning general election promise to "get Brexit done" by January 31.
But it also pushes Britain and the remaining 27 European Union member states closer to another cliff edge that could end decades of unfettered trade when the post-Brexit transition period shuts at the end of 2020.
A snap poll last week gave Johnson's pro-Brexit Conservatives a commanding majority of 365 seats in the 650-member lower House of Commons.
The main opposition Labour party - out of power since 2010 and riven by internal conflicts over Britain's place in the world - was relegated to its worst defeat since 1935.
Johnson's triumph dispelled any doubts over whether Britain would follow through on the results of its 2016 referendum and become the first nation to leave the bloc, ending almost half a century of EU membership.
"Now is the time to act together as one reinvigorated nation, one United Kingdom, filled with renewed confidence in our national destiny and determined at last to take advantage of the opportunities that now lie before us," Johnson told lawmakers ahead of the vote.
"It will be done. It will be over. The sorry story of the last three and a half years will be at an end and we will be able to move forward."
The government hopes to hold a final vote on Johnson's separation terms on January 9.
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