Will Theresa May risk bringing her Brexit plan before MPs for another big vote?

Theresa May‘s decision to seek a delay to Brexit until October initially allowed some of steam out of the Westminster pressure cooker.

But after a brief respite for Easter, May was feeling the heat this week after another abortive coup at the hands of her backbenchers.

Hostile Conservative MPs are running out of patience with both her perceived failure to deliver on Brexit and her premiership.

May vowed to quit after seeing through the first stage of the Brexit process but the latest delay means this appears increasingly remote to her restive MPs.

In a bid to regain control, May is said to be considering introducing the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill to the Commons – the legislation required to deliver Brexit.

The bill would need to pass through the same parliamentary hurdles as any piece of legislation, allowing MPs and peers to perform line-by-line scrutiny.

It enshrines May’s Brexit plan in law, effectively separating the withdrawal agreement from the so-called political declaration, which was tacked on to cover the UK’s future relationship with Brussels.

Labour mostly supports the withdrawal agreement but it has concerns about the political declaration, so wrenching the two apart could heighten its appeal.

One of the advantages of the bill is that the government could also attach different concessions to win over wavering MPs.

It could offer concessions to Labour MPs from Leave-voting areas. Wigan’s Lisa Nandy and Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Gareth Snell have made it clear that enhanced workers rights’ would be the price of their support for any Brexit deal.

Downing Street is also said to be considering adding reassurances around technological solutions to use on the Irish border, which could appeal to Eurosceptic Tories who despise the backstop.

It is a high-stakes move, as May is far from sure of securing a majority for it to pass its second reading.

And if MPs reject it, May would have start again in a new session of parliament as the same bill cannot be brought during the same session.

Despite mounting speculation that the prime minister could introduce the legislation next week, Commons leader Andrea Leadsom failed to announce it in next week’s business.

This decision may be linked to the local elections on 2 May, as days of bad Brexit headlines will do the Conservatives no favours in that contest.

May could decide to bring the bill back to parliament in the window between the locals and the European parliament elections on 23 May, to ramp up pressure on Labour to back it or face accusations of blocking Brexit.

It is risky, but the prime minister knows she must do something to take back control of the Brexit process. Otherwise it will be plain that her government has run out of ideas.