Brexit vote: MPs vote for Theresa May to renegotiate Irish backstop with EU

The Malthouse Compromise

Only an emerging plan at this point, it would extend the transition period from the end of 2020 and in to December 2021 and allow the UK and EU to "prepare properly" for WTO terms or "obviate this outcome by negotiating a mutually beneficial future relationship".

It is reportedly backed by members of both the Remain and Leave camps of the Conservative party.

MPs voted to implement a year-long trial of proxy voting for MPs on parental leave.

Tulip Siddiq will be the first MP to vote by proxy tonight.

Here is our countdown to Brexit video - what is needed to complete a deal with the EU?

On the BBC this morning Jacob Rees-Mogg cast doubt over his stance on Sir Graham Brady's amendment.

He has said that if it has government support it means reopening the Withdrawal Agreement that would be "very different" from a backbench plan.

"Let's see what the Prime Minister says at the despatch box today and what the Brady amendment really means.

If the Brady amendment is a Government amendment, effectively, that means the Withdrawal Agreement will be reopened - as Liam Fox said this morning - that's very different from a worthy backbench motion that doesn't do anything.

So let's just wait and see on that."

Pro-EU Tory Anna Soubry has rejected the "compromise proposals" that have been thought up by Remain and Leave supporting Tory MPs.

"We understand why MPs desperately concerned about crashing out of the EU are considering desperate measures but this latest proposal only heightens the risk of a no-deal outcome.

"The prospect of the EU ripping up the Withdrawal Agreement or allowing a transition period without the backstop is very remote - and for good reason given the risks to the Irish peace process.

"Instead, this scheme backed by Jacob Rees-Mogg is a recipe for the no-deal Brexit that the hard Brexiters have always craved."

Talk has centred on the so-called Malthouse Compromise this morning - a plan to unite Tory Brexiteers and Remainers. Here, hardline Eurosceptic Steve Baker sets out the scenario.

Away from Brexit for a minute, slashing corporation tax rates will cost the public finances £6.2bn per year, HMRC has said, despite government claims that the giveaway will increase revenues.

The UK already has one of the lowest tax rates on company profits in the world at 19 per cent but it will fall a further 2 per cent by next year under a policy introduced by George Osborne in 2015 and backed last year by Philip Hammond.

More from our business correspondent Ben Chapman

Independent MP Fiona Onasanya is being sentenced today at the Old Bailey. She was expelled from the Labour party earlier this month after she was found guilty of repeatedly lying to police about a driving offence.

Under parliamentary rules, she will automatically lose her seat if she receives a prison sentence of a year or more. This could trigger a by-election in her Peterborough constituency, a marginal seat that was held by Tory Brexiteer Stewart Jackson for 12 years.

Here's our story on the background of the case:

The DUP has thrown its weight behind the "Malthouse compromise", which has been dreamt up by an unlikely coalition of Tory Remainers and Brexiteers.

The DUP's intervention is significant, as Theresa May needs their support to get any Brexit plan through parliament. However they are vehemently opposed to anything that makes Northern Ireland different to the rest of the UK.

Arlene Foster, DUP leader, said: "We believe it can unify a number of strands in the Brexit debate including the views of remainers and leavers. 

"It also gives a feasible alternative to the backstop proposed by the European Union which would split the United Kingdom or keep the entire United Kingdom in the Customs Union and Single Market. Importantly, this proposal would also offer a route towards negotiating a future trade relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. 

"If the Prime Minister is seeking to find a united front, both between elements in her own party and the DUP, in the negotiations which she will enter with the European Union, then this is a proposition which she should not turn her back on.  

"There is no better time to advance this alternative given the confusion and disarray which is now manifesting itself in Brussels.  This has been displayed both by the contradictory EU statements and the panic stricken behaviour of the Irish government.”

The timing for today's key votes has been pushed back as the government is making a statement on HMRC estates transformation. We now expect the votes to start around 8pm.

Shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner is sceptical about the move.