Theresa May warns rebel MPs to back her Brexit deal or voters will lose their jobs

Theresa May today warns her rebellious MPs: back my Brexit deal or voters will lose their jobs.

The Prime Minister uses an article in today’s Mail on Sunday to issue a patriotic rallying cry, telling her opponents that they ‘must realise the risks they are running with our democracy’.

With days to go until the Commons showdown on her deal, Mrs May says that MPs thinking of voting it down should consider the effect on ‘the jobs our constituents rely on to put food on the table for their families’. The vote was pulled at the last minute in December after party whips told Mrs May that more than 100 Tory MPs were expected to join forces with the DUP and Labour to defeat the measure in protest at the Irish ‘backstop’ – which they claim would trap Britain indefinitely in a form of customs union to avoid a hard border with Dublin.

But as MPs return to the Commons tomorrow after their Christmas break, there appears to be little sign of any climbdown by the rebels without a major concession from Brussels – despite No 10 laying on a ‘charm offensive’ programme of drinks with Mrs May in the coming days.

Her only hope of securing Commons backing may lie in her persuading a sufficient number of Labour MPs to support the deal.

This newspaper understands that senior Tory figures were in contact with Labour MPs over the Christmas period, with begging calls even being made late on Christmas Eve in some cases. Concessions on ‘workers’ rights’ are believed to have been offered in an attempt to garner Labour backing.

In her article, Mrs May repeatedly hails the strength of British democracy, and describes ‘our genius for pragmatism’ as ‘a defining British trait’.

Describing 2019 as the year when the UK could ‘turn a corner’, she says: ‘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.’

The Prime Minister calls on all MPs opposed to the deal – from Tory Brexiteers to arch-Remainers hoping for a second referendum – to study their consciences.

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