Theresa May announces Brexit vote will be held week beginning January 14

Theresa May's Brexit deal will finally be voted on by MPs in the week beginning January 14, the Prime Minister has confirmed.

Speaking in the Commons on Monday afternoon, May announced the do-or-die date for her EU withdrawal agreement, having cancelled vote last week in the face of a huge defeat by her own party.

The announcement was met with anger by many MPs, who believe pushing the vote into the new year will leave them with the choice of May's plan or no deal.

Some believe negotiations should be reopened with the EU, but May repeated that her agreement – including the much derided UK-wide customs union backstop plan – was the only deal on offer from Brussels.

May described claims a better agreement could be struck as "fiction", and added: "When we have the vote, Members will need to reflect carefully on what is in the best interests of our country.

"I know that there are a range of very strongly held personal views on this issue across the House. And I respect all of them.

"But expressing our personal views is not what we are here to do. We asked the British people to take this decision."

She went on: "I know this is not everyone’s perfect deal. It is a compromise.

"But if we let the perfect be the enemy of the good then we risk leaving the EU with no deal."

May spent the end of last week in Brussels trying to secure assurances the backstop would only be temporary if it was ever enacted.

EU leaders repeatedly refused to reopen the withdrawal agreement, but May sought to reassure MPs their concerns had been listened to.

She said: "My fellow EU leaders could not have been clearer – they do not want to use this backstop. They want to agree the best possible future relationship with us. There is no plot to keep us in the backstop.

May added: "As formal conclusions from a European Council, these commitments have legal status and should be welcomed."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn used his response to claim May's cabinet was divided on how to proceed with getting parliamentary backing for her deal, and urged the Prime Minister to bring the vote forward to allow an alternative path to be plotted.

He said: "The deal is unchanged and not going to change. This House must get on with the vote and move on to consider the realistic alternatives – there can be no logical reason for this delay."

It had been expected that Corbyn was going to call for a symbolic vote of no confidence in May's premiership, but he pulled back from making the demand after the date of the vote was confirmed.