Theresa May begs MPs for two more weeks to cut Brexit deal as she faces Valentine’s Day massacre from Remainers

THERESA May has begged MPs to give her two more weeks to seal a Brexit deal - as she faces a Valentine's Day massacre of resignations from Remainers.

The PM told MPs today we must "hold our nerve" over Brexit talks as she pleaded with them for more time.

Ahead of another crunch set of crucial Commons debates on Thursday, Mrs May admitted that if a deal wasn't done soon then Parliament could take control of the whole process.

That could mean MPs forcing Britain into delaying Brexit, holding another referendum, or legally ruling out leaving with No Deal at all.

In a Commons statement today she said talks were at a "crucial stage" - but insisted that only by standing firm will we get the changes needed to get Brexit done on time.

Some MPs think she's deliberately running down the clock to try and force them into backing her deal at the last moment.

The PM is still looking at how to replace the hated Northern Irish backstop with a new plan or to get the EU to agree it needs to be time limited and not trapping the UK in it forever.

"By getting the changes we need to the backstop; by protecting and enhancing workers' rights and environmental protections; and by enhancing the role of Parliament in the next phase of negotiations I believe we can reach a deal that this House can support," she said.

"But if the Government has not secured a majority in this House in favour of a Withdrawal Agreement and a Political Declaration, then the Government will on Tuesday 26 February make a statement and table an amendable motion relating to the statement; and a Minister will move that motion on Wednesday 27 February, thereby enabling the House to vote on it, and on any amendments to it, on that day."

She ruled out staying a part of the EU customs union as Jeremy Corbyn has suggested, saying only her deal would give her Britain a free trade policy in future.

However, she will have more talks with the leftie boss this week - and used her speech to insist that she would do more on workers rights as part of her efforts to woo Labour MPs.

The PM will do a ring around of the other EU27 leaders too, to urge them to make the legal changes she wants.

Mrs May insisted: "We can deliver for the people and the communities that voted for change two and half years ago – and whose voices for too long have not been heard.
"We can honour the result of the referendum.
"And we can set this country on course for the bright future that every part of this United Kingdom deserves."

Earlier today Commons boss Andrea Leadsom said Mrs May was working "flat out" to get a deal everyone could agree with, and the EU needed to look "very carefully" about how they could help or Britain would leave without a deal.

"It's extraordinarily clear what Parliament will support," she told the BBC earlier.

"What the Prime Minister wants is a bit more time to undertake pretty crucial but delicate negotiations with the EU, to make sure we can sort out the problem of an unlimited backstop."

She said the Brexiteers must not be "purist" in the changes they will accept to support the deal - in a big hint they should back whatever legal changes the PM can wangle.

And she insisted the PM isn't even considering Jeremy Corbyn's plan to tie the UK to a customs union forever, which sparked huge concerns in the Cabinet.

"The PM's deal offers all the benefits of a customs union, with the chance to write our own trade policy," she said.

However she also refused to say exactly when the next vote on Mrs May's deal will be, and refused to deny it could be as late as March.

Last night Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay held talks with EU boss Michel Barnier over possible new plans for Northern Ireland.

But the Frenchman said that it was "clear from our side we are not going to re-open the withdrawal agreement" as Brexiteers want.

More talks are on the cards "in the coming days" and teams are working to "find a way forward", officials said.

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