Theresa May reaches out to unions and Labour MPs in unprecedented bid to force deal through

Follow live updates from Westminster

Jeremy Corbyn: 'If the Government cannot pass its most important legislation, then there must a general election at the earliest opportunity'

Theresa May has launched a fresh bid to secure support for her Brexit deal by reaching out to trade unions and Labour MPs.

The prime minister spoke to union bosses on Thursday and signalled that she will accept a Labour backbench amendment to secure workers rights after Brexit.

The amendment was tabled by John Mann, Caroline Flint and Gareth Snell. Mr Mann said the government's support would be "significant" and would make the proposed withdrawal agreement "more attractive".

Ms May's calls with union leaders appeared to have had little impact. Speaking after a call with the prime minister, GMB general secretary Tim Roache said: "I represent 620,000 working people and it’s about time their voices were heard. After nearly three years I’m glad the prime minister finally picked up the phone.

"As you would expect, I was very clear about GMB’s position - the deal on the table isn’t good enough and non-binding assurances on workers' rights won’t cut it."

Earlier, Jeremy Corbyn delivered a major speech on Brexit and called for Ms May to hold a general election to heal the divisions caused by Brexit.

As it happened...

Key Points

• Government hints it could accept Labour MPs' amendment as May seeks to build support for Brexit deal
• Theresa May calls union leaders to seek backing for agreement
• Greg Clark suggests he could resign if government pursues no-deal 'disaster'
• Jeremy Corbyn calls for general election to help heal Brexit divisions

[10 January 2019 08:41 · Benjamin Kentish]

Welcome to today's live coverage from Westminster.

[10 January 2019 08:53 · Benjamin Kentish]

Jeremy Corbyn will this morning re-iterate calls for a general election, saying this is the only way to heal the divisions caused by Brexit.

[10 January 2019 09:04 · Benjamin Kentish]

Greg Clark, the business secretary, has called the possibility of a no-deal Brexit a "dire prospect" that is causing fear among businesses across the world.

His latest intervention is a sign of a growing cabinet split over how the government should respond if its Brexit deal is voted down next week. Theresa May has repeatedly refused to rule out leaving the EU without an agreement, while other ministers are actively calling on her to pivot to this approach if the Commons rejects her plan.

Writing for Politico, Mr Clark said:

"In recent weeks, confidence from investors has been shaken. Debates in the UK parliament are monitored closely, and with mounting alarm, in boardrooms around the world.

The dire prospect that we could tolerate trading with our largest and closest market on WTO terms — the most rudimentary that exist between any nations on earth — is bewildering to them.

And when hundreds of millions of pounds are having to be diverted by companies from productive investments into defending themselves against the risk of a no-deal exit from the European Union — through piling up stocks, renting warehouses and planning shutdowns of production — investors have every right to object."

[10 January 2019 09:32 · Benjamin Kentish]

Andrea Leadsom has had a sly dig at John Bercow after the pair had another row in the Commons yesterday.

Appearing on ITV's Peston, the leader of the Commons said she was fed up with an "incredibly annoying little creature that squeaks a lot and has found a place in the corridor outside my office" - then said she was talking about a parliamentary mouse...

[10 January 2019 09:44 · Benjamin Kentish]

Greg Clark has refused to rule out resigning if the government pursues a no-deal Brexit, saying such an outcome would be a "disaster"

[10 January 2019 10:00 · Benjamin Kentish]

The government has signalled it could accept a Brexit amendment tabled by Labour backbenchers, in a fresh sign of Downing Street's attempts to build support behind Theresa May's Brexit deal.

The amendment, tabled by MPs John Mann, Gareth Snell and Caroline Flint, would enshrine extra protections for workers and the environment once Britain leaves the EU.

Mr Mann said it would be "significant" if the government accepted the amendment and would make Ms May's deal "more attractive", raising the prospect of some Labour MPs voting for the proposed agreement.

[10 January 2019 10:15 · Benjamin Kentish]

Here's Greg Clark warning about the impact of a no-deal Brexit on Radio 4's Today this morning

[10 January 2019 10:31 · Benjamin Kentish]

Theresa May will meet Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe this afternoon as the two country's announced a £30m research collaboration

[10 January 2019 10:42 · Benjamin Kentish]

Jeremy Corbyn's big Brexit speech in Wakefield is expected to get underway around 11.00am - stay tuned...

[10 January 2019 10:56 · Benjamin Kentish]

Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine has said Theresa May should resign if she loses the vote on her Brexit deal next week.

He told LBC:

"I think that that is the most sensible way forward because self-evidently there is no confidence. Now people will say, oh but the government... the Labour Party will put forward a motion of no confidence in the government as opposed to the prime minister and they will lose it, in my view. That, they will say, means that she can go on, but in my experience of politics, that isn’t quite as simple as it seems because the Tory party in the last resort is a very sophisticated political machine and there are a lot of people at the top of the party who are interested in its survival and useful role. I think it’s very possible that despite the vote of confidence which she won, that there would be a coming together of people who said, look, we can’t go on like this."