Theresa May launches telephone blitz as she begs EU leaders to help her get Brexit deal over the line at last
The Prime Minister is spending this week phoning up European leaders and spoke to Angela Merkel today
THERESA May faces a last-minute dash to get her Brexit deal over the line as Britain returns to work today.
The PM is locked in a round of phone calls with European leaders, begging for help fixing the withdrawal agreement - including a talk with Germany's Angela Merkel today.
She will ask EU bosses to approve legal changes to the hated "Irish backstop" so Britain doesn't stay tied to Brussels forever.
Then Mrs May will return to London tomorrow and launch a full-scale lobbying campaign of MPs.
The Prime Minister has less than two weeks before the Commons votes on her deal.
Last month she pulled the planned vote because she was heading for a huge defeat.
But she has now pinned her future on fixing the backstop proposal, which is designed to avoid a hard border in Ireland.
Mrs May is this week holding talks with EU leaders asking for legal measures which ensure the backstop would never become permanent.
Dozens of MPs say they can't vote for the deal as it stands because it risks leaving the UK permanently locked in the European customs union.
Speaking in Singapore today, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt predicted that the PM "will find a way to get this deal through Parliament".
He told the BBC: "I know that discussions have been happening over the Christmas period.
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VOTE DANGER: MPs will finally vote on the PM's Brexit deal on January 14 or 15.
Dozens of Tories and moderate Labour figures have previously pledged to oppose it - meaning there is a serious danger the deal will fall.
If that happens, Mrs May will have to go back to the drawing board - with just ten weeks to go before Brexit.
NO DEAL DRAMA: If the Commons doesn't approve a withdrawal agreement, Britain will be on course to leave the EU without a deal.
Legally speaking, the UK will quit the bloc on March 29 whether or not there is a deal.
The PM and most ministers are convinced that a No Deal outcome would plunge Britain into damaging chaos - although Brexiteers insist the country could thrive by trading on WTO terms.
REFERENDUM RE-RUN: If Britain is heading towards No Deal, the Commons is likely to try and stop it.
MPs from across the parties would team up to try and force a second referendum which could overturn Brexit altogether.
If Parliament does vote for a repeat of the 2016 referendum, Mrs May will come under intense pressure to hold one despite having previously ruled it out.
ELECTION THREAT: If the PM does succeed in forcing her deal through the Commons, she'll face a new threat from her DUP allies.
They have vowed to oppose the Government in a vote of confidence if the withdrawal agreement is passed in its current form.
That means Jeremy Corbyn could bring down the Tories and trigger a snap election any moment by tabling a formal no-confidence motion.
TOPPLING TORIES: Mrs May held on to her job last month by vowing to quit before the next General Election, due in 2022.
But after 117 MPs voted for her to be kicked out, the PM could face demands to quit earlier than that.
Leadership contenders such as Jeremy Hunt, Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid are already jostling for position in hte race to replace her.
"Theresa May has been very clear this isn't just about words but about text which has legal force.
"She has also been very straightforward about this - the EU has agreed the backstop is temporary and that's a word they have agreed.
"So what we're saying, very simply, is we're not asking for anything new but we are asking you to define what temporary means so we can have confidence we're not going to be trapped in the customs union for ever against the wishes of the British people."
Mr Hunt warned against a No Deal outcome or holding a second referendum.
He said: "A No Deal Brexit would cause disruption that could last some time.
"That is not something that any government should willingly wish on its people.
"A second referendum would also be damaging because we are a democracy.
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"The social consequences in one of the oldest democracies in the world in not going ahead with leaving the EU on March 29 as we've been instructed to do would be devastating."
Parliament returns to work on Monday, and will restart the debate on Mrs May's Brexit deal from Wednesday.
The vote on the withdrawal agreement is then expected to take place on January 14 or 15.
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