VOTERS in Central Fife will be heading to the polls in the pre-Christmas General Election called last night.

MPs voted by 438 votes to 20 to back a General Election on Thursday December 12.

Opposition parties had tried to change the date of the election to 9 December, but this was voted down by 315 to 295.

It means that the voters of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, held by Lesley Laird for Labour; Dunfermline and West Fife, which includes Crossgates, Hill of Beath and Moss-side, held by Douglas Chapman for the SNP; and Glenrothes and Central Fife, also an SNP seat held by Peter Grant, which includes Cardenden and Kinglassie, will be asked to cast their votes two weeks before Christmas.

It will be a somewhat historic poll as it will be the first December General Election since the 1920s.

Of three local MPs Lesley Laird voted for the election while neither Peter Grant or Douglas Chapman voted for the date of December 12.

It means that the pre-Christmas run-up will be interrupted by the hurly-burly of an election in each of the constituencies as the fall-out of Brexit comes to a grand finale.