Today’s political headlines include May preparing for a historic defeat, Merkel offering May more help, Corbyn could call a vote of no confidence this evening and the MP who has delayed giving birth in order to vote.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
May prepares for \u2018historic defeat\u2019<\/span> Merkel offers May more help<\/span> Corbyn could call for a vote of no confidence this evening<\/span> MP delays giving birth to vote on deal<\/span> Senior MPs reject \u2018daft\u2019 Boles plan<\/span> Pro-Brexit Facebook advert funding unclear<\/span> May puts RAF plane on standby<\/span> \u00a3132m awarded to charity despite misconduct investigation<\/span>
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May is braced for what it calls a \u2018historic defeat\u2019 when the Commons votes on her Brexit deal today. Yesterday she called on backbench Conservatives and the DUP to give it a \u2018second look\u2019 after assurances from the European Union were released, but just half of her MPs turned up to listen to her appeals on the evening before the vote.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Sun<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May was offered \u2018last-minute help\u2019 by German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday, and will tell the cabinet when it discusses \u2018Plan B\u2019 this morning that the EU could make more concessions after the Commons rejects the deal this evening, including persuading Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to accept an end-date for the backstop.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0The Guardian<\/em>, Jeremy Corbyn could call for a vote of no confidence as soon as this evening unless May makes \u2018major unexpected concessions\u2019. A source told the paper that if this vote were lost, it would not mean that Labour would automatically back a second referendum.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The BBC\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Labour MP Tulip Siddiq has delayed giving birth via caesarean section so that she can vote against the deal today. Harriet Harman said that Siddiq \u2018should not have to chose\u2019 between giving birth and voting, while Speaker John Bercow described the lack of proxy voting as \u2018extremely regrettable\u2019 and delays in implementing it \u2018frankly lamentable\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that the likelihood of \u2018political paralysis\u2019 has increased after senior MPs rejected a proposal put forward by Nick Boles to use the Commons Liaison Committee to agree an alternative Brexit plan. Pete Wishart, a member of the committee, called it a \u2018daft suggestion\u2019. The paper\u00a0adds<\/a>\u00a0that an amendment by Tory backbencher Andrew Murrison will propose a December 2021 end-date for the backstop, and that the Government is considering supporting it.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that an obscure pro-Brexit group, Britain\u2019s Future, has spent \u00a331,000 on more than 200 Facebook adverts in the last seven days, but that despite changes by Facebook to improve transparency, there is no evidence to show who is paying for the advertising.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Mirror<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May has put her RAF plane on standby in case she needs to fly to Brussels to seek immediate concessions in the aftermath of her deal being rejected in tonight\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reveals<\/a>\u00a0that the Government has awarded \u00a3132m to the International Planned Parenthood Foundation, despite a senior official being under investigation for harassment and misconduct. Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary, had promised not to fund charities which did not meet \u2018high standards on safeguarding and protection\u2019.<\/p>\n