MPs have authorised Theresa May to go back to Brussels to renegotiate a key part of her Brexit deal after a series of dramatic Commons votes.
Different Brexit factions tabled amendments to Ms May’s exit plan, which she was forced to bring back to the Commons on Tuesday after MPs overwhelmingly rejected her Brexit deal earlier this month.
Amid an apparent compromise between Tory Remainers, Brexiteers and her DUP allies, MPs backed a bid by Tory grandee Sir Graham Brady to scrap the Irish backstop and replace it with “alternative arrangements”, requiring the prime minister to go back to Brussels.
However the path ahead looks rocky, as the European Commission immediately sent out a statement saying the deal was “not open for renegotiation”.
Follow updates from Westminster as they unfolded throughout the day
The timetable in the House of Commons for today:
1130 Treasury questions
1230 A 10-minute rule motion on Smoking Prohibition (National Health Service Premises)
1245 Brexit deal debate and votes
Labour's priority today is to make sure that no-deal is taken completely off the table, that Theresa May cannot be under any sense of ambiguity that she can use the tactic of saying 'It is my deal or no deal'. No-deal must disappear.
He said the shadow cabinet would meet ahead of the debate to decide whether to back an amendment by Labour MP Yvette Cooper and Tory Nick Boles to delay Brexit if there is no deal by the end of February, although he suggested there was a "lot of sympathy" for the plan.
We have got to be sure that the amendments we are supporting will take no-deal off the table.
There are other ways of achieving that. Labour has its own official amendment down."
Business Minister Richard Harrington warned that the patience of Tory MPs opposed to a no-deal break was running out.
What will happen in this week’s crucial Brexit votes in the Commons?
Analysis: On Tuesday, MPs will attempt to take the next step in the Brexit process. Ashley Cowburn looks at some of the crucial amendments the Commons are set to vote on and considers what might happen nextThe discussions involved herself, Health Minister Stephen Hammond, and Solicitor General Robert Buckland from one wing of the party, and Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker from the Brexiteer side.
The Prime Minister has been aware of the discussions. At some point there has to be compromise on all sides in order to get a deal over the line. That is what most of us want to see - a negotiated settlement with the EUPeople like me want to avoid a no-deal outcome, a crashing out on March 29. We have to look for ways to do that. We are all prepared to compromise on that."
A new Brexit plan, which is reportedly backed by both the Remain and Leave camps of the Conservative party, has also been put forward.
The plan - dubbed "the Malthouse Compromise" - would lead to Britain leaving the EU "on time and with a functioning government", former Brexit minster Steve Baker said.
The proposal "provides for exit from the EU on time with a new backstop, which would be acceptable indefinitely, but which incentivises us all to reach a new future relationship".
He said the Prime Minister was prepared, if necessary, to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement in order to secure a legally-binding text, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
I think we should send the Prime Minister back to Brussels with a strong mandate to be able to say 'If you compromise with us on this one issue, on the the backstop, we would be able to a get an agreement' - an agreement that is almost there.
We have seen the German economy weakening, we have seen the French economy weakening.
I think this view - 'We can simply weather out any disturbance that would occur from a no-deal' - I think there is much less appetite for that. I think we still have time to reach a compromise on that."
Brexit ‘plan C’ emerges after Jacob Rees-Mogg joins forces with Tory Remainers
Theresa May under pressure to back astonishing compromise - but EU seems certain to reject it as unworkableBrake on the backstop
Theresa May threw Government support on Monday behind an amendment that seeks to replace the controversial backstop with "alternative arrangements" to avoid a hard border in Ireland.
Tabled by Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, if it passed the Commons its supporters believe it gives Mrs May more firepower to go back to Brussels and ask for more concessions and get a Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament.
Fellow Tories Andrew Murrison and John Baron scrapped very similar amendments to clear a path, but the hardline ERG is refusing to back it.
Grieve amendment
In a bid to prevent a no-deal Brexit, the cross-party backed proposal from Dominic Grieve would effectively wrest control of Commons business from the Government for six individual days in the run-up to the UK's scheduled withdrawal date of 29 March with the intention of getting MPs to reach a consensus on how to handle it.
Taking control
In a similar vein, a move by Labour former minister Yvette Cooper, supported by Tories such as Nick Boles, calls for a vote on a Bill that would give Parliament control over the Brexit process if Theresa May fails to secure a deal by February 26.
MPs would get a vote on extending Article 50 to the end of the year and preventing a no-deal exit under the terms of the Bill. The Labour frontbench has been publicly flirting with throwing its weight behind the amendment.
No to no deal
A cross-party effort headed by Tory Dame Caroline Spelman has widespread support and rejects the UK quitting the EU without a Withdrawal Agreement. This would probably be more palatable to the Government than either the Grieve or Cooper bids for MPs to take back control.
Labour's twin track approach
This calls for MPs to be able to vote on options to stop a no-deal exit, such as a customs union with the EU, as well as the possibility of a new Brexit referendum. Jeremy Corbyn has been careful not to commit Labour to officially back such a poll, though.
Amendments have been tacked on to the Labour push, with the Liberal Democrats calling for Remain to be on the ballot paper in any referendum, and Labour backbenchers urging Parliament to legislate for a public vote.
Indicative votes
Commons Exiting the European Union Committee chairman Hilary Benn wants a series of votes on various Brexit options to see where the most support lies.
The Independent has launched its #FinalSay campaign to demand that voters are given a voice on the final Brexit deal.
Sign our petition here
