Pat McFadden MP: Delaying Brexit vote the 'same as losing'

The Prime Minister has come under fire from furious MPs from all parties following her announcement that the vote on her agreement with the EU was being put back.

It was due to take place tomorrow night but Mrs May admitted it faced certain defeat, with more than 100 Tories and the vast majority of MPs from other parties said to be planning to vote against the deal.

The Prime Minister told MPs she was postponing the vote to give her time for more discussions with the EU to 'secure assurances' over the contentious Irish backstop issue.

However, the move has been roundly criticised.

Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden, who sits on the influential Brexit Select Committee, said he was not surprised Mrs May had pulled the vote considering the 'huge weight' of opposition against her plan.

"Pulling the vote is the same as losing, only without the drama," he added.

"She has taken this course of action because she knew she was going to lose.

"When it comes down to it, the problem is not really the Prime Minister personally, it is the nature of Brexit itself.

"It gives the country a choice of either suffering a lot of economic damage, or becoming a rule taker.

"Whoever was Prime Minister could not have escaped that fact, but it is her fault that she has never levelled with the public over this essential choice."

Brexiteer Sir Bill Cash, the Tory MP for Stone, said the backstop issue was 'only part of the disaster' of the withdrawal agreement.

"We need full repeal of the 1972 Act to deliver the vote of 2016 and preserve the union of the UK," he said.

Business leaders also hit out at the delay. Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the CBI, said: “This is yet another blow for companies desperate for clarity.

"Investment plans have been paused for two and a half years. Unless a deal is agreed quickly, the country risks sliding towards a national crisis.

“Politicians on both sides of the Channel need show leadership, by building consensus to protect both the UK and EU’s prosperity.

"No one can afford to head into Christmas with the threat of no-deal costing jobs and hitting living standards.”

In a statement to the Commons this afternoon Mrs May insisted her blueprint was still the 'best deal negotiable', and said she still planned to put it to a vote once 'reassurances' had been secured on the Irish border backstop.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Government was in 'disarray' and called for Mrs May to step aside.

However, the EU has already dismissed the idea that there could be substantive concessions on the divorce package, with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar insisting it was 'not possible' to change the deal.

No new date was given for the vote, but it is thought it could drag on into the new year.

Confusion reigned this morning in Whitehall, with a spokesperson for the Prime Minister initially claiming the vote would take place tomorrow as planned, adding that Mrs May was 'confident' of winning it.

Cabinet member Michael Gove also said the vote was going ahead, and in a Q&A session with Express & Star readers, Brexit Secretary Barclay said he was confident the deal would pass through the Commons.

It all appeared to change after Mrs May met with her Cabinet in a hastily arranged conference call, having conceded that she could not win enough support for her deal.