It's the UK's Most Important Election in a Generation. Here's What You Need to Know.

It's been called the most important election in a generation. When the U.K. votes Thursday for a new government, it will be deciding the country’s fate for decades to come.

While topics like the National Health Service, climate change, and austerity have been discussed during this election, it is Brexit that dominates the vote. Three years after the country voted to leave the EU, voters will once again be asked to define its relationship with Europe.

If Boris Johnson is voted back in as prime minister with a majority, the U.K. will likely leave the EU by January. A Labour-led government with Jeremy Corbyn in charge will see the process delayed, and possibly canceled completely.

The choice the people of the U.K. make on Dec. 12 will have repercussions for years to come.

"The answer that they give to that question will have a huge impact on Britain's position politically and indeed economically for the next 10 to 15 years,” Robert Ford, a professor of politics at the University of Manchester, told VICE News. “The answer that we get tomorrow will set the course of British politics for a decade or more because it will determine the Brexit outcome and that in turn will determine much else that we do politically.”

Here’s what you need to know about Thursday’s vote.

How did we get here?

The U.K. voted to leave the EU in June 2016, and since then, the country has been in political turmoil. First, Theresa May replaced David Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister. Then she decided to hold a snap election in 2017 to give her a larger majority to push through a Brexit deal.

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