The legislation approved by MPs on Tuesday<\/a> will later begin its passage through the House of Lords, where it is not expected to be opposed.<\/p>\n In their final encounter in Parliament before the election, the two leaders exchanged barbs over their political values and disputed their parties respective records on the NHS.<\/p>\n The Labour leader accused the PM of running down the health service, saying cuts to funding had contributed to rising waiting times for cancer treatment and operations.<\/p>\n He said a Labour government would reverse the privatisation of the NHS, saying his goal was to “make people better, not make the wealthy few richer”.<\/p>\n “The choice at this election cannot be clearer,” he said. “People have the choice to vote for real change to end years of Conservative and Lib Dem cuts and tax handouts for the richest.”<\/p>\n Mr Johnson said he agreed voters faced a “stark choice” between a government spending “unrivalled” sums on the NHS and a Labour government that would “wreck the economy”.<\/p>\n Dismissing the Labour leader as an “Islingtonian protester”, he said Mr Corbyn’s “flip-flopping” over Brexit would lead to “years of dither and delay” rather than a “bright future” under the Tories.<\/p>\n He claimed 2020 would be a “wonderful year” under a Tory government but a Corbyn government would lead to another referendum on Scottish independence and years of “toxic, tedious, torpor”.<\/p>\n The election comes after the EU extended the UK’s exit deadline to 31 January 2020 – although Brexit can happen earlier if a deal is agreed by MPs.<\/p>\n The legislation approved by MPs now must be rubberstamped by the House of Lords.<\/p>\n It would be pretty strange if unelected peers up the corridor from the green benches decided to say no or throw spanners in the works of a decision made by the House of Commons last night.<\/p>\n Unless something very strange happens, we are now on for an election.<\/p>\n Both sides are very, very nervous about what might unfold. And both sides are right to be nervous.<\/p>\n The two main party leaders, in a strange kind of mirror of each other, are happy campaigners, but divisive characters.<\/p>\n Both of them will try to set the agenda, but they can’t know where this will all take us.<\/p>\n They can’t know if it will be their issues they’re able to talk about at length, but that’s the glory of elections – it’s up to voters to set the terms.<\/p>\n They decide the things they care about, they are interested in and they will put politicians on the spot about.<\/p>\n Labour’s Shadow chancellor John McDonnell, said the election wouldn’t just be about Brexit – telling BBC Breakfast: “It will be about what has happened over the last nine years of austerity and our public services.”<\/p>\n “We want to give people hope again about the future,” he said.<\/p>\n Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was “certainly not yearning for general election”, but he believed it was “the only way to move the country forward”.<\/p>\n He said the Conservatives would be offering a “centrist agenda” to voters – and his party would be running a more “optimistic” campaign than their widely-criticised 2017 effort, which led to Theresa May losing her majority.<\/p>\n Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson said the poll was “our best chance to elect a government to stop Brexit”.<\/p>\nLeadership, not protest<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/720x405\/p07sg3zw.jpg\")
<\/div>![\"Presentational](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/1226D\/production\/_105894347_grey_line-nc.png\")
<\/span><\/figure>\nWhat happens next?<\/h2>\n
![\"Ballot](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/11553\/production\/_109459907_32023d3d-2606-4d70-8d6a-7c014c787470.jpg\")
Image copyright<\/span>PA MEDIA<\/span><\/span><\/figure>\n\n
<\/span><\/figure>\n![\"Analysis](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/7DC3\/production\/_104759123_laurakuenssberg-nc.png\")
<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/span><\/figure>\nOpening skirmishes<\/h2>\n
![\"Boris](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/7913\/production\/_109459903_60b1a997-196e-43b4-bc42-56c01a41265b.jpg\")
Image copyright<\/span>EPA<\/span><\/span><\/figure>\n\n
![\"Nicola](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/C733\/production\/_109459905_sturgswin.jpg\")
Image copyright<\/span>REUTERS<\/span><\/span><\/figure>\n