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Deadline set for Theresa May to win over MPs critical of her Brexit deal

It represents a significant marker in the countdown to Brexit, announced with just 99 days to go.

By Aubrey Allegretti, political reporter

Thursday 20 December 2018 19:25, UK

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Leadsom: Govt expects to get a deal agreed by parliament
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The deadline has been set for Theresa May to win over Tory MPs to back her Brexit deal.

Debate on the agreement will kick off on Wednesday 9 January - parliament's second day back after the Christmas break.

It represents a significant marker in the countdown to Brexit, announced by House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom with just 99 days to go.

Despite many backbenchers pushing the government to name a date for the final vote, she refused to.

The original vote was scheduled for the start of December - but was pulled the day before by Mrs May because she feared a "significant" defeat.

Theresa May's tough week in London was topped off with a ribbing from overseas
Image: Theresa May pulled a vote on her Brexit deal earlier this month

Sky News calculated 184 MPs were set to support it. The prime minister needed 318 to win.

Ms Leadsom insisted that although parliament breaks up on Thursday for Christmas, it was a good chance for MPs to "take stock".

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She told Sky News: "What is so important is the prime minister's Brexit plan, which will come back to the chamber in the first week back after the Christmas break, people must consider it very seriously.

"The legal default is that if we don't have a deal agreed that we will be leaving the EU without a deal next March.

Britain's Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd leaves from 10 Downing Street in central London on December 18, 2018, after attending the weekly meeting of the Cabinet. - British ministers met on Tuesday to intensify plans for leaving the European Union without a deal -- a prospect that is becoming more likely as Prime Minister Theresa May plays for time with just 101 days to go until Brexit.
Image: Amber Rudd has admitted there could be a 'plausible argument' for another vote

"So it's really important people have the chance to study all of the implications of the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration."

It comes as Amber Rudd, the work and pensions secretary, said if parliament did not reach a consensus she could see how there would be a "plausible argument" for a second referendum.

Ms Leadsom added that some MPs thought that not getting legal assurances that the Irish backstop could not last indefinitely was a "deal-breaker".

Mrs May promised to ask for those assurances on her last trip to Brussels, but left without them.

One Brexiteer former minister - who did not want to be named - was less than pleased, and told Sky News she was "a national humiliation at home and overseas".

"Her period of office is over. We await the precise timing of her withdrawal," they added.

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