Theresa May tells MP rebels ‘back my Brexit or risk losing jobs for hardworking Brits’
THERESA May has warned rebel MPs to back her Brexit deal or risk losing jobs for ordinary, hard-working Brits.
The PM says the fractured House must come together, just days away from the vital Commons showdown.
The vote was delayed in December as Tory rebels, Labour MPs and the DUP joined forces looking to defeat her plan over the hated Irish "backstop".
MPs come back from the Christmas break tomorrow and the new vote is pencilled in for next week - but today it's reported the PM could delay it AGAIN.
Mrs May has come out fighting writing: "At moments of profound challenge, we always find a way forward that commands the confidence and consent of the whole community. This is such a moment."
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She added: "MPs of every party will face the same question when the division bell rings.
"It is a question of profound significance for our democracy and for our constituents.
"The only way to both honour the result of the referendum and protect jobs and security is by backing the deal that is on the table."
She also warned that critics of her deal at risking the fury of voters - and undermining our democracy too.
Mrs May wrote: "There are some in Parliament who, despite voting in favour of holding the referendum, voting in favour of triggering Article 50 and standing on manifestos committed to delivering Brexit, now want to stop us leaving by holding another referendum," she said.
"Others across the House of Commons are so focused on their particular vision of Brexit that they risk making a perfect ideal the enemy of a good deal.
"Both groups are motivated by what they think is best for the country, but both must realise the risks they are running with our democracy and the livelihoods of our constituents."
Brexiteers fear the PM will delay the key Commons vote for a second time next week and take the whole process right to the wire - trying to pressure them into backing her deal or risk leaving with nothing.
A senior MP told The Sun: "It’s the political equivalent of a footballer time-wasting in the dying minutes."
But sources suggest opposition to her EU strategy has become more fierce over the break.
Ex Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith used his MoS column to hit back - and say that MPs still hate the deal.
He wrote: "Even the most loyal of advisers must know that attitudes simply haven’t changed."
And IDS denies that further talks with EU leaders will help Britain's cause, adding "the problem has been that while our negotiators have behaved towards the EU as friends, they have treated us as adversaries."
And Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said today that politicians had “not gone soft over Christmas”, adding that he expected more than 100 Tories to revolt over the withdrawal agreement.
With the vote due on January 15 or 16, Tory whips are preparing another trip to Europe - which would delay the main vote yet again.
Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable said May would be "playing with fire if she refuses MPs the right to vote on her deal".
Mrs May also uses her article to slam Labour's Jeremy Corbyn for flip-flopping on his alternative Brexit plan.
She writes: "‘He tells one group he would keep the UK in the single market, while promising another group an end to free movement.
"Throughout, he has provided the opposite of leadership, serving not our national interest but always his own political interest."
Tensions around Brexit continue to tighten with calls for a second People's Vote and migrants still risking their lives to cross the Channel in dinghys.
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