Brexit: Downing Street denies reports Theresa May will delay vote on her withdrawal deal
Reports suggest prime minister will make final plea to Brussels for better agreement
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Your support makes all the difference.Downing Street has denied claims that Theresa May will delay holding the vote on her Brexit deal in a last-ditch effort to avoid defeat.
The prime minister is reportedly considering returning to the EU to ask for a better deal before seeking the approval of MPs.
That would mean postponing the vote scheduled to take place on Tuesday, according to The Sunday Times.
Downing Street rejected the suggestion and a spokesman said: ”The vote is going ahead on Tuesday.’’
However the newspaper claimed that this denial would remain the official line until Monday and that the prime minister had been persuaded to make a final plea to Brussels.
It follows reports that the EU will renegotiate with Theresa May if she loses the crunch vote originally planned for 11 December.
Former European Commission president Romano Prodi said it was crucial that the European Union took steps to avoid the negative consequences of the UK crashing out without a deal in March.
However current president Jean-Claude Juncker has repeatedly said that Ms May’s deal is the only one on offer.
Ms May has also warned that the UK “would truly be in uncharted waters” if her Brexit deal is voted down by MPs.
“It would mean grave uncertainty for the nation with a very real risk of no Brexit,” she said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday.
In a message to her MPs, she said: “If you want Brexit, make sure you get it, and that’s about this deal.”
Politicians from both sides of the political spectrum have publicly said Ms May should consider her position if she does not win the vote.
On Friday a poll, reported exclusively by The Independent, suggested a majority of Britons now favoured remaining in the EU.
Data from polling firm BMG Research revealed that support for staying in the bloc has grown month by month since the summer, breaking past 50 per cent in December as the complex realities of Brexit were brought home to the nation.
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