Brexit vote will happen before January 21 after Theresa May delayed it to avoid humiliating defeat

THERESA May called off her Brexit deal vote at the 11th hour — condemning Britain to continuing chaos and crisis through Christmas and into the New Year.

The PM’s decision to scrap the vote to avoid a humiliating defeat and seek talks with Brussels for better terms sparked renewed resignation demands.

Amid angry scenes in the Commons, she admitted she faced defeat “by a significant margin” if the vote went ahead.

Mrs May told MPs she would instead go back to Brussels to begin renegotiating and seek to win fresh “assurances” over the controversial Irish border issue.

When pressed on a date for a new Commons vote on a Brexit deal she admitted it may not happen until January 21 — a six-week delay. Today a spokesman repeated that is the deadline for a vote.

Tory Brexiteers said the PM was not going far enough.

Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said “warm words” without legally binding commitments would not win their support.

And Labour said her Government was in “disarray” just 108 days before Britain is due to exit the EU on March 29.

Yesterday’s drama began with senior ministers repeatedly insisting today’s vote would go ahead as scheduled.

Then at 11.30am, No 10 summoned the Cabinet to a telephone conference call during which Mrs May revealed she was suspending it. The decision infuriated MPs and set off a chain reaction as:

• THE Pound fell to an 18- month low against the US dollar as business leaders warned the Brexit chaos risked a “national crisis”.
• EU Council president Donald Tusk agreed to a leaders’ summit discussion of her plea but refused to renegotiate the Irish backstop.
• MRS May challenged critics such as Boris Johnson to be “upfront” about the “significant economic damage” caused by a No Deal Brexit.
• HER ex-Chief of Staff Nick Timothy predicted Mrs May will fail in Brussels and warned our political system is at risk from looming constitutional crises.

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