Rival Brexit plans jostle for position ahead of Commons vote

Westminster remained in deadlock over the Brexit withdrawal deal on Tuesday ahead of a key vote in parliament as rival groups sought support for alternatives to the government's stalled plans.

One amendment tabled by Conservative remain and leave MPs sought a compromise on the Irish backstop and extending the implementation period until December 2021 in return for paying the £39bn divorce bill.

The extra implementation time would be used to try to agree a free-trade deal, while citizens’ rights would be guaranteed and there would be no customs checks on the Irish border.

However, unnamed EU officials dismissed the idea as “nonsense”, according to the Guardian newspaper, as it failed to address Irish concerns on how to avoid a hard border with Northern Ireland.

Pro-EU Conservative MP Nicky Morgan said the plan “recast the backstop as a sort of free-trade-agreement-lite”.

“That would involve a commitment by all sides to have no hard border on the island of Ireland, but allow trade to continue, while there is a slightly longer implementation period till December 2021,” she said.

In return, Brexit supporters have agreed to drop their demand that the £39bn divorce settlement be withheld, Morgan added.

Senior Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady tabled an amendment, to be debated on Tuesday, that calls for the backstop to be replaced with “alternative arrangements”.

May instructed her MPs to support Brady's amendment, setting the scene for another potential deadlock over her withdrawal agreement.

Pro-remain MPs have rallied round a rival amendment tabled by Labour's Yvette Cooper which would rule out a no-deal scenario and delay Britain's scheduled departure date of March 29 by nine months.

The final decision on which amendments go to a vote rest with House of Commons speaker John Bercow. Once he decides and after debate the votes will take place at 1900 GMT.