Brexit news - live updates: Theresa May offers MPs chance to vote on delaying Article 50 if no deal agreed with EU
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has told MPs that parliament will be given a vote on whether or not to opt for a no-deal Brexit if her proposed withdrawal plan is rejected next month.
The prime minister said that, if MPs again vote down her proposed deal, the Commons will be given a say on whether to approve or reject a no-deal outcome. If they choose to reject it, another vote would be held on whether to extend the Article 50 period.
Ms May was responding to numerous Remain-backing ministers threatening to quit if she failed to give parliament the right to block a no-deal Brexit.
She insisted she did not want to see Article 50 extended and refused to be drawn on how long any extension might be, saying only that she would want it to be "as short as possible". She also declined to say how Tory MPs would be ordered to vote on the matter of whether to accept a no-deal Brexit or delay leaving the EU.
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Announcing the guarantees in the Commons, Ms May said: "They are commitments I am making as prime minister and I will stick by them, as I have previous commitments to make statements and table amendable motions by specific dates."
She added: "Let me be clear, I do not want to see Article 50 extended. Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on March 29."
The confirmation that MPs would be given a vote on no-deal was enough for some potential rebels, with one of the main architects of a plan to force the government to guarantee a Commons vote saying he was "satisfied" there was no longer any need for the amendment.
Former minister Oliver Letwin said Ms May's offer "does what is needed to prevent a no deal exit on 29 March and enables MPs to forge a cross-party consensus on a new way forward if the PM's deal does not succeed on 12 March". There was now "no need" for the motion he was due to table with Labour's Yvette Cooper, he added.
Welcome to The Independent's politics liveblog, where we will be bringing you all the latest updates throughout the day.
MPs are gearing up for a day of Brexit drama, with a Commons statement later today. But the news dominating this morning is from Labour after Jeremy Corbyn FINALLY shifted towards backing a second referendum if his party's Brexit plan is voted down.
It sounds a bit techy but it marks an important shift in the Brexit process.
Read our full take here:
Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer confirmed that if Theresa May's deal got through parliament, Labour's policy was for it to be put to a referendum - with remaining in the EU as the alternative option.
"We specifically agreed yesterday, as the Labour Party, that if the Prime Minister's deal gets through, that deal should be subject to the lock, if you like, of a public vote in the way that Jeremy (Corbyn) spelled out yesterday," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Sir Keir, who said he would vote to remain in the EU, rejected claims from anonymous sources who had briefed that shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry "misspoke" when she set out the position on the referendum.
Asked if advisers to Mr Corbyn did not agree with the position, Sir Keir said: "I don't know who said what. What I do know is you have got elected politicians on your programme, you had Emily Thornberry out last night, setting out what the position is we agreed as the Labour Party."
Asked about a potential Labour revolt over a referendum, Sir Keir acknowledged: "I'm well aware of different views across my own party and across Parliament on pretty well all Brexit issues."
Today's cabinet meeting has just started and it is expected to be a stormy one, with Eurosceptic ministers likely to be furious at reports that Theresa May could give MPs the chance to delay Brexit.
The prime minister is said to be on the verge of giving Parliament the opportunity to choose between a no-deal Brexit and an extension to Article 50 if her revised withdrawal plan is voted down again next month.
She will present her proposal to the Commons later, but first has to convince her divided ministers to support it...
No 10 has said Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, will travel to Brussels after today's cabinet meeting for further talks as the government continues to try to secure changes to the Northern Ireland backstop.
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There is a big row going on in Labour circles over the party's policy on a second referendum. Last night, Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, said the party would support a referendum that asked voters to choose between Theresa May's deal and Remain.
In response, a Labour source suggested this was not the case. They suggested the option of no-deal could also be on the ballot.
Ms Thornberry hit back, tweeting:
She was backed by Tom Watson, the party's deputy leader:
Labour has put a Final Say back on the table - here's how a second referendum could work, writes Sean O'Grady...
There are no urgent questions today, meaning Theresa May's highly anticipated Brexit statement will take place around 12.30pm.
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