• Prime Minister Theresa May has suffered another Brexit defeat after the House of Commons on Thursday rejected a motion seeking endorsement for her Brexit plans.
• MPs voted 303 to 258 to reject the government’s motion after dozens of pro-Brexit MPs abstained.
• Some Brexit advocates argued that the motion would have effectively ruled out a no-deal Brexit.
• May had asked MPs to send a “clear message” to the European Union.
• It is the eighth time the government has lost a House of Commons vote on Brexit.

LONDON – Prime Minister Theresa May has suffered another Brexit defeat in the House of Commons after rebel Conservative MPs abandoned their support for her plans to break from the European Union.

The prime minister had asked MPs to send a “clear message” to the EU about their desire for “legally binding changes” to her Brexit deal, with the UK’s scheduled exit just weeks away.

But in another day of Westminster drama, MPs voted 303 to 258 on Thursday evening to reject the prime minister’s motion seeking endorsement for her plan to renegotiate the controversial backstop for Northern Ireland.

A majority of Conservative MPs in the pro-Brexit European Research Group abstained from the vote, which is what led May’s government to its eighth Brexit defeat in the House of Commons.

The prime minister’s opponents called on her to change course.

“Tonight’s vote shows there is no majority for the prime minister’s course of action on Brexit,” the Labour Party’s leader, Jeremy Corbyn, told MPs immediately following the vote.

“Yet again she has been defeated. The government cannot keep on ignoring parliament.”

David Lammy, a Labour MP who supports the anti-Brexit Best For Britain campaign, described the result as a “massacre for the government and a damning indictment of the Prime Minister’s Brexit plan.”

He added: “The Prime Minister has nowhere left to hide.

“Her threats to throw the country off a cliff edge if MPs do not vote for her deal will be exposed as deeply cynical by a leader more concerned with the future of her party than her country. She should now rule out no-deal and put her deal to a public vote with the option of remaining in the EU.”

Thursday’s vote wasn’t legally binding, but it had symbolic weight and puts even greater pressure on May to change her Brexit strategy.

The vote was originally expected to be a straightforward victory for the government as it sought a repeated endorsement for a motion previously passed by MPs two weeks ago.

But pro-Brexit MPs in the European Research Group abstained on the prime minister’s motion, as they believed it also endorsed a previous amendment that called on the government to rule out a no-deal Brexit.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay had insisted in the Commons that a no-deal Brexit was still possible. Conservative rebels accused the government of “doublethink,” however, after ministers refused to rewrite their motion.

“We’re now truly entering the world of George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth,” Conservative MP Bill Cash told the Commons.

“In his book 1984, Orwell said doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously and expecting both of them. This double motion is doublethink in action and I cannot possibly vote for it.”

Pro-Brexit MPs were split on whether to back the prime minister, with some members of the anti-EU European Research Group breaking to back May’s motion.

The result means the prime minister will return to Brussels later this month without the clear support from Parliament for a renegotiated deal.

It will also add to growing pressure on May to shift toward backing a customs union with the EU to win support from Labour and other opposition parties. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The prime minister's Brexit deal is backed by 202 MPs but 432 vote against.

Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal has been rejected by 230 votes - the largest defeat for a sitting government in history.

MPs voted by 432 votes to 202 to reject the deal, which sets out the terms of Britain's exit from the EU on 29 March.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has now tabled a vote of no confidence in the government, which could trigger a general election.

The confidence vote is expected to be held at about 1900 GMT on Wednesday.

The defeat is a huge blow for Mrs May, who has spent more than two years hammering out a deal with the EU.

The plan was aimed at bringing about an orderly departure from the EU on 29 March, and setting up a 21-month transition period to negotiate a free trade deal.

The vote was originally due to take place in December, but Mrs May delayed it to try and win the support of more MPs.

The UK is still on course to leave on 29 March but the defeat throws the manner of that departure - and the timing of it - into further doubt.

MPs who want either a further referendum, a softer version of the Brexit proposed by Mrs May, to stop Brexit altogether or to leave without a deal, will ramp up their efforts to get what they want, as a weakened PM offered to listen to their arguments.

Laura Kuenssberg: May's nightmare

History was made tonight with the scale of this defeat - a higher figure than the wildest of numbers that were gossiped about before the vote.

But the prime minister's dilemma is a more serious version of the same it's always been.

She has no majority of her own in Parliament to make her middle way through stick. And her many critics don't agree on the direction she should take - a more dramatic break with the EU, or a tighter, softer version.

Those two fundamental and clashing positions have always threatened to pull her and the government apart.

Read more from Laura

The Brexit debate has cut across traditional party lines.

Some 118 Conservative MPs - from both the Leave and Remain wings of her party - voted with the opposition parties against Mrs May's deal.

And three Labour MPs supported the prime minister's deal: Ian Austin (Dudley North), Kevin Barron (Rother Valley) and John Mann (Bassetlaw).

The most controversial sticking point was the issue of the Northern Irish backstop - the fallback plan to avoid any return to physical border checks between the country and Ireland.

Mrs May had hoped new assurances from EU leaders this week, saying the backstop would be temporary and, if triggered, would last for "the shortest possible period", would help her garner more support.

But in the debate leading up to the vote, members from all sides of the House said the move did not go far enough.

Please upgrade your browser to view this interactive Did my MP vote For or Against the Brexit deal? Enter a postcode, or the name or constituency of your MP

Click here if you cannot see the look-up. Data from Commons Votes Services.

In normal times, such a crushing defeat on a key piece of government legislation would be expected to be followed by a prime ministerial resignation.

But Mrs May signalled her intention to carry on in a statement immediately after the vote.

"The House has spoken and this government will listen," she told MPs.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a no confidence motion

She offered cross-party talks to determine a way forward on Brexit, if she succeeded in winning the confidence vote.

Former foreign secretary and leading Brexiteer Boris Johnson said it was a "bigger defeat than people have been expecting" - and it meant Mrs May's deal was now "dead".

But he said it gave the prime minister a "massive mandate to go back to Brussels" to negotiate a better deal, without the controversial Northern Ireland backstop.

And he said he would back Mrs May in Wednesday's confidence vote.

Labour MP Chuka Umunna said that if his leader did not secure a general election, Mr Corbyn should do what the "overwhelming majority" of Labour members want and get behind a further EU referendum.

Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, who also wants a second referendum, said Mrs May's defeat was "the beginning of the end of Brexit" - but conceded that campaigners would not get one without Mr Corbyn's backing.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Mrs May had suffered "a defeat of historic proportions" and called again for the Article 50 "clock to be stopped" in order for another referendum to take place.

"We have reached the point now where it would be unconscionable to kick the can any further down the road," she said.

However, government minister Rory Stewart said there was no majority in the Commons for any Brexit plan, including another referendum.

How a confidence motion works

By the BBC's head of political research Peter Barnes

Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011, UK general elections are only supposed to happen every five years. The next one is due in 2022.

But a vote of no confidence lets MPs decide on whether they want the government to continue. The motion must be worded: "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government."

If a majority of MPs vote for the motion then it starts a 14-day countdown.

If during that time the current government, or any other alternative government cannot win a new vote of confidence, then an early general election would be called.

That election cannot happen for at least 25 working days.

MPs are set to debate Labour's no confidence motion for about six hours following Prime Minister's Questions at 1200.

Mr Corbyn said it would allow the House of Commons to "give its verdict on the sheer incompetence of this government".

But DUP leader Arlene Foster said her party, which keeps Mrs May in power, would be supporting her in Wednesday's confidence vote.

She told the BBC MPs had "acted in the best interests of the entire United Kingdom" by voting down the deal.

But she added: "We will give the government the space to set out a plan to secure a better deal."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Boris Johnson said the majority of 230 in Parliament is "perhaps a bigger defeat than people had been expecting"

In her statement to MPs, Mrs May said she planned to return to the Commons next Monday with an alternative plan - if she survives the confidence vote.

She said she would explore any ideas from cross-party talks with the EU, but she remained committed to delivering on the result of the 2016 referendum.

But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the risk of a disorderly Brexit had increased as a result of the deal being voted down.

He said the agreement was "the only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal" and that he and President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, had "demonstrated goodwill" with additional clarifications this week to put MPs minds at rest.

"I urge the United Kingdom to clarify its intentions as soon as possible," he said. "Time is almost up."

Mr Tusk said he regretted the outcome of the vote and later tweeted to ask "who will finally have the courage to say what the only positive solution is?"

A statement from the Irish government also said it regretted the decision and that it "continues to believe that ratification of this agreement is the best way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the UK".

It also said it will "continue to intensify preparations" for a no deal Brexit. </s> Prime Minister Theresa May’s EU Withdrawal Agreement was defeated by 432 votes to 202, the largest government defeat in modern history. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told the House of Commons Mrs May's "catastrophic" defeat represented an "absolutely decisive" verdict on her Brexit negotiations and has tabled a vote of confidence. He added the vote would enable the Commons to "give its verdict on the sheer incompetence of this government". The motion will be debated in the House of Commons tomorrow.

What is a no confidence vote? Will Theresa May QUIT? A vote of no confidence is a way for an opposition party to try to overthrow the government. It works by MPs voting on a motion asking whether they have “confidence” or “no confidence” in the Government. The motion must be tabled by the Leader of the Opposition, who in this case is Jeremy Corbyn.

If the motion is backed, it starts a countdown of exactly 14 days in which the government must win the support of MPs in a second vote. If they fail to do this then Parliament is dissolved and a general election is triggered. Since the Fixed Term Parliament Acts 2011 was introduced, a motion of no confidence is one of only two ways in which an early general election can now be triggered. Mrs May has vowed to fight on and insisted her deal was “the best way to deliver the will of the British people”.

Will Theresa May win a vote of no confidence? The outcome is not certain but the bookies believe Theresa May can survive. Theresa May has odds of 1-50 to win the no-confidence vote, according to Coral, but she is on odds of 1-2 to be replaced as Prime Minister in 2019. Coral’s John Hill said: “Theresa May is long odds-on to win the no confidence vote tomorrow, however, the betting suggests her survival will be short-lived as punters continue to bet on her to leave her position before the end of the year.” </s> As a result of Theresa May’s crushing defeat on her Brexit withdrawal deal, a vote of no confidence is being held tonight. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for the vote after a staggering 432 MPs voted against Mrs May’s deal. This meant just 202 MPs had supported the Prime Minister - and t is feared she could lose out at the no confidence vte tonight as well.

How many MPs will vote AGAINST Theresa May TONIGHT?



According to bookmakers Betway, more than 300 MPs are expected to support today’s motion of no confidence in Theresa May.



Betway has made the number of anti-May MPs at 310 to 319 being the most likely bracket of votes against the leader at 4/9.



This would not be enough to force May’s resignation, however, and the firm makes her heavily odds-on at 1/33 to survive today’s vote and 10/1 for a surprise defeat.

The online bookmaker expects the PM’s next move will be to seek an extension of Article 50 at just 1/5.



For Jeremy Corbyn to endorse a second referendum first is 8/11.



Another potential is for May to step down by the end of the week at 7/2 and 8/1 for no significant developments before 29th March, resulting in the UK leaving the EU with no deal.



Betway spokesman Alan Alger said: “Theresa May doesn’t have much room for maneuverer ahead of today’s vote of no confidence, with it just 4/9 for her to receive 310-319 no confidence votes.



However, there’s little sign of her own party rebelling and we expect May to get through the vote at just 1/33.



“The big question is what her next move will be, with an extension of Article 50 the most obvious play at 1/5, though Jeremy Corbyn could put a spanner in the works and endorse a second referendum first at 8/11.”



Following Mrs May’s defeat on Tuesday, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he "profoundly" regretted the Commons vote and that it was now up to the British Government to say how it intended to proceed.



"An orderly withdrawal will remain our absolute priority in the coming weeks," he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

He said there would be a "favourable response" from the EU side if Mrs May was prepared to re-think her red lines and seek a more "ambitious" deal with Brussels.



However, he was adamant the backstop had to remain part of any agreement.



"The backstop which we agreed to with the UK must remain a backstop. It must remain a credible backstop," he said.



Mrs May has today reiterated the Government wants the UK to leave the EU on March 29, telling MPs in the House of Commons: "The EU would only extend Article 50 if actually, it was clear there was a plan that was moving towards an agreed deal." </s> Theresa May's government has tonight survived a vote of no confidence.

MPs voted 325 to 306 in favour of allowing the Prime Minister's administration to remain in power, despite the Brexit turmoil.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled the motion last night after MPs voted 432 to 202 against Mrs May's EU Withdrawal Agreement.

During a six-hour debate today in the Commons, Mr Corbyn argued that Mrs May's "zombie" administration had lost the right to govern.

But the outcome of tonight's vote means Mrs May and her cabinet can now continue Brexit negotiations with the EU.

The UK is due to leave the EU on March 29. </s> British Prime Minister Theresa May survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament on Wednesday to remain in office — but saw more of her power ebb away as she battled to keep Brexit on track after lawmakers demolished her European Union divorce deal.

May won a narrow victory, 325 votes to 306 votes, on an opposition motion seeking to topple her government and trigger a general election.

Now it’s back to Brexit, where May is caught between the rock of her own negotiating red lines and the hard place of a Parliament that wants to force a radical change of course.

After winning the vote, May said she would hold talks “in a constructive spirit” with leaders of opposition parties and other lawmakers, starting immediately, in a bid to find a way forward for Britain’s EU exit.

Legislators ripped up May’s Brexit blueprint Tuesday by rejecting the divorce agreement she has negotiated with the EU over the last two years. That it would lose was widely expected, but the scale of the rout — 432 votes to 202, the biggest defeat government defeat in British parliamentary history — was devastating for May’s leadership and her Brexit deal.

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn responded with the no-confidence motion and urged the government to “do the right thing and resign.”

May, who leads a fractious government, a divided Parliament and a gridlocked Brexit process, said she was staying put. May said an election “would deepen division when we need unity, it would bring chaos when we need certainty, and it would bring delay when we need to move forward.”

The government survived Wednesday’s vote with support from May’s Conservative Party and its Northern Irish ally, the Democratic Unionist Party. Many pro-Brexit Conservatives who voted against May’s deal backed her in the no-confidence vote to avoid an election that could bring a left-wing Labour government to power.

Had the government lost, Britain would have faced a snap election within weeks, just before the country is due to leave the European Union on March 29.

Political analyst Anand Menon, from the research group U.K. in a Changing Europe, said May has a remarkable ability to soldier on.

“The thing about Theresa May is that nothing seems to faze her,” he said. “She just keeps on going.”

May’s determination — or, as her foes see it, her inflexibility — might not be an asset in a situation calling for a change of course. The prime minister has until Monday to come up with a new Brexit plan.

May promised to speak to lawmakers from across the political spectrum. But she also said any new Brexit plan must “deliver on the referendum result,” which May has long interpreted to mean ending the free movement of workers to Britain from the EU and leaving the EU’s single market and customs union. </s> MPs must decide tomorrow whether the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal after they handed Theresa May another humiliating defeat and robbed the Prime Minister of any control over the Brexit process.

Conservative Brexiteers and the Government’s DUP allies refused to be swayed by last-minute assurances over the Irish border backstop and sent her deal to a second crushing defeat, by 391 votes to 242.

A Commons vote will be held tomorrow night on whether to reject a no-deal Brexit.

READ MORE: Brexit: Sturgeon uses vote defeat to justify Scottish independence push

Mrs May confirmed Conservative MPs would be given a free vote despite insisting throughout the Brexit process that the UK would leave the EU with or without a deal.

A spokesman for European Council president Donald Tusk warned that rejection of the proposed deal for a second time, with just 17 days left until the UK’s scheduled departure “has significantly increased the likelihood of no-deal Brexit”.

Markets-sensitive information was set to be released early tomorrow morning on the import tariffs the UK will impose if it does crash out without a Brexit deal, and on management of the Irish border.

The Chancellor is also expected to set out how the Government will respond to a no-deal Brexit when he delivers the Spring Statement tomorrow.

If MPs reject a no-deal Brexit, they will be asked on Thursday whether to request an extension to Article 50 and delay the UK’s scheduled departure date of 29 March. Mrs May confirmed she would ask Brussels for an extension if ordered to by the Commons, although Downing Street said the Government would only seek a short delay of a few months.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Prime Minister’s deal was “clearly dead” and called for a general election.

“The Prime Minister is threatening us all with the danger of No Deal, knowing full well the damage it will do to the British economy,” Mr Corbyn said.

“The Prime Minister has run down the clock and the clock has been run out on her.“

Nicola Sturgeon said the Prime Minister and the government “should be hanging their heads in shame” and demanded that Brexit be delayed and a no-deal outcome ruled out.

“We now have a government that has effectively ceased to function and a country that remains poised on a cliff edge,” the First Minister said.

“Scotland’s needs and voice have been ignored by the UK Government throughout the Brexit process, and today a handful of DUP MPs held more sway over Scotland’s future than our own national Parliament – that demonstrates more clearly than ever that the case for Scotland becoming an independent country has never been stronger.”

Just 38 Tory MPs who helped deliver a record 230-vote defeat for her deal in January changed their minds after a last-minute dash to Strasbourg to secure assurances on the backstop on Monday, and appeals from the Prime Minister yesterday.

“I profoundly regret the decision that this House has taken tonight,” Mrs May told MPs moments after the result was confirmed.

“I continue to believe that by far the best outcome is that the UK leaves the EU in an orderly fashion with a deal, and that the deal we have negotiated is the best and indeed the only deal available.”

The Prime Minister said the country now faced “unenviable choices” even if MPs vote to delay Brexit.

“Let me be clear,” she said. “Voting against leaving without a deal and for an extension does not solve the problems we face.

“The EU will want to know what use we mean to make of such an extension.”

READ MORE: Brexit: Nicola Sturgeon ‘told she wasn’t bright enough’ to understand May’s deal

With the EU ruling out any further renegotiation of the Brexit agreement, Downing Street did not rule out bringing it back before MPs if they reject no-deal.

Mrs May told MPs they would vote tomorrow night on a motion that states: “This House declines to approve leaving the European Union without a Withdrawal Agreement and a Framework on the Future Relationship on 29 March 2019; and notes that leaving without a deal remains the default in UK and EU law unless this House and the EU ratify an agreement.”

Amendments over the next two days are likely to include proposals for a second EU referendum, which the Prime Minister admitted was now an option.

EU leaders warned they would not automatically grant a delay to Brexit, which must be approved unanimously by all 27 other member states.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: “Should the UK hand in a reasoned request for an extension, I expect a credible and convincing justification.

“The smooth functioning of the EU institutions needs to be ensured.”

“On EU side we’ve done all that’s possible to reach an agreement,” Mr Tusk’s spokesman said. “It’s difficult to see what more we can do. If there’s a solution to the current impasse it can only be found in London.” </s> Theresa May is fighting on two fronts as the Prime Minister fights to retain her grip on power while attempting to find a Brexit compromise that most MPs would support.

Mrs May faces a vote of no confidence today, Wednesday, January 16, after suffering a massive parliamentary defeat over her controversial EU withdrawal agenda.

Labour launched a bid to oust the Government after Mrs May's Withdrawal Agreement was overwhelmingly rejected by 432 votes to 202.

Lincolnshire MPs Victoria Atkins, Nick Boles, Sir Edward Leigh, Caroline Johnson and Matt Warman voted for the deal.

But Lincoln MP Karen Lee (Labour) and South Holland and The Deepings MP Sir John Hayes voted against.

Karen Lee tweeted last night that Theresa May's "botched" deal does not protect workers rights or guarantee frictionless trade.

She later tweeted this:

Sir Edward Leigh told the BBC: "The Remainers have taken over Parliament - they will stop no deal.

"My colleagues in the Tory party voted against the Government. They think the will get no deal but they might get no Brexit or delayed Brexit or permanent customs union with no control over migration."

And Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman tweeted that the chance of a softer Brexit or no Brexit had increased.

Despite the humiliating defeat, Government sources remained optimistic about seeing off Labour's confidence challenge after the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and leading figures from the Brexiteer and Pro-Europe wings of the Tory party said they would back the PM.

The scale of the 230-vote rejection of the Government's Brexit agenda saw Mrs May pledge to reach out to leading parliamentarians from across the Commons to try and find a way forward.

With the UK scheduled to exit the EU in just over 10 weeks' time on March 29, the Prime Minister has until next Monday to return to the Commons and present a 'Plan B' option.

After suffering the the biggest government defeat on a meaningful vote for at least a century, which saw 118 Tory MPs rebel, opponents of the PM's Brexit stance insisted Downing Street must now show real movement.

Calls for Article 50 to be extended, meaning the UK remains in the EU longer, also intensified among pro-Europeans.

Mrs May signalled she hoped to find "genuinely negotiable" solutions that she can hammer out with Brussels after the defeat.

However, French president Emmanuel Macron made it clear a renegotiation of the Brexitdeal was unlikely.

Speaking after the Commons vote, he said: "I don't really believe in this, because we already went as far as we could."

He told British leaders to "figure it out yourselves" as he wished them "good luck" as he predicted that Britain would ask for more time to hold talks.

The comments came as it emerged Chancellor Philip Hammond and Business Secretary Greg Clark used a private telephone call to tell business chiefs not to expect changes to the legal Brexit withdrawal text, but rather to the political declaration on future relations with the EU, according to Government sources.

The Financial Times, meanwhile, reported Mr Hammond told those on the call the Government would not put any "obstacles" in the way of a plan by Tory MP Nick Boles to give senior backbenchers a role in finding a solution to the deadlock.

"We have to reach out to MPs in the Commons first," the Chancellor is reported to have said. "There is a large majority in the Commons that is opposed to no-deal."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn insisted he was tabling the no confidence motion in the Government because Mrs May's "catastrophic" Brexit defeat represented an "absolutely decisive" verdict by MPs on the Prime Minister's handling of EU withdrawal.

But, Mr Corbyn's hopes of forcing an early general election were dampened as the DUP Westminster leader Nigel Dodds said his party would back Mrs May.

He told BBC2's Newsnight: "We will be supporting the Government in the no confidence motion.

"What it really shows is when it comes to the crunch and the Government's survival is on the line the DUP will be able to keep the Government in power."

Asked if Labour could win Wednesday's no confidence vote, shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner told the BBC: "I think the numbers are probably not there tomorrow. We will hope that we can."

Mr Gardiner refused to be drawn on reports that up to 100 Labour MPs were set to call on Mr Corbyn to pivot towards a second Brexit referendum on Wednesday.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, who had cancelled travel plans in order to be in Brussels for the aftermath of the vote on Wednesday, voiced "regret" at the defeat of what he termed "the best possible deal".

He said the Commons vote "increased the risk of a disorderly withdrawal" from the EU.

Mr Juncker said: "I urge the United Kingdom to clarify its intentions as soon as possible." </s> British prime minister Theresa May has been defeated over her Brexit plan B on Thursday.

Asked to “reiterate its support for the approach to leaving the EU” expressed by the House of Commons on January 29th, it voted 303 against the motion, tabled by the government.

The prime minister was not present for the vote.

She had been seeking MPs’ backing for her approach to renegotiating her withdrawal agreement with the EU after the House of Commons emphatically rejected it last month.

Although Mrs May is seeking to finalise a revised Brexit deal with the EU, she has repeatedly refused to rule out the possibility of the UK crashing out of the bloc without an agreement.

But Eurosceptic Conservative MPs are angry that a government motion about Mrs May’s strategy that they are being asked to approve on Thursday “welcomes” recent votes in parliament, including one rejecting a no-deal Brexit.

Many Eurosceptics argue that a no-deal option is necessary as a negotiating tactic with Brussels.

“It makes sense that we keep no deal on the table, because we know the history of the EU that they do make concessions at the last moment,” said Shailesh Vara, who resigned as a minister in protest at Brexit policy. “We need to hold our nerve.”

Some members of the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Tory MPs, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, are now expected to abstain in the vote on Thursday, which could result in the government motion being rejected, and thereby undermine Mrs May’s credibility with Brussels.

Adding to the prime minister’s difficulties, Europhile Conservative MPs criticised Brexit secretary Steve Barclay after he said that the UK could leave the EU without a deal on March 29 despite parliament having voted against such a possibility.

Caroline Spelman, the Conservative MP who spearheaded the Commons vote last month against leaving without a deal, suggested that the government was “contemptuous” of the Commons.

MPs were asked to vote up to four times on Thursday. Three amendments to the government motion have been selected for debate: one by Labour, which seeks to force the government to give MPs a further vote on Mrs May’s strategy on February 27th; another by the Scottish National party, calling for steps to revoke Brexit; and a third by Europhile MPs, ordering the release of the government’s no-deal assessments.

This third amendment, led by the Conservative Anna Soubry and Labour’s Chuka Umunna, was later withdrawn.

Mr Barclay tried to assuage Eurosceptic Tories in his speech at the start of the Commons debate on Thursday. “We do need as a parliament to hold our nerve, and we do need to send a clear signal to those in the European Union with whom we’re discussing this deal,” he said.

Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said Mr Barclay was “all over the place on all of the important issues”, and accused Mrs May of “running down the clock, hoping to get to March or even the end of March” before presenting MPs with a choice of her withdrawal agreement or a no-deal Brexit. – Financial Times
British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal is defeated in Parliament by 432 votes to 202, the worst defeat for a Prime Minister in modern British history. As a result, a vote of no confidence in her government will be held tomorrow.