Will Theresa May’s ‘improved’ Brexit deal be enough for MPs?
Jean-Claude Juncker warns ‘there will be no third chance’ after last-ditch talks

Theresa May says she has secured “legally binding” changes to her Brexit deal to ensure the so-called Irish backstop will not “become permanent”.
MPs will vote on the deal later but Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has already dismissed the changes, saying they are not “anything approaching” what the prime minister had promised.
The new assurances are a “hollow victory” for May, The Guardian says, and Brussels has “conceded next to nothing”. But according to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “Monday morning government blues have been replaced by Tuesday morning nervous hopes” and predicts that the changes “will move some of the Prime Minister's objectors from the ‘no’ column to the ‘yes’”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Daily Mail hails the moment as a “critical breakthrough” but Sky News says that the Prime Minister’s “11th-hour dash to Strasbourg” might not be enough to prevent “another humiliating Commons defeat”.
One unnamed cabinet minister says that May is now “back in the races” but Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said the outcome of the talks showed the Brexit negotiations were in disarray.
A “joint legally binding instrument” on the withdrawal agreement has been agreed, which May said could be used to start a “formal dispute” against the EU if it tried to keep the UK tied into the backstop indefinitely.
Additionally, a “joint statement” commits to replacing the backstop with alternative arrangements by December 2020. Third, a “unilateral declaration” states the UK's position that there is nothing to prevent it from leaving the backstop arrangement if discussions break down.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Following the talks, May said: “Today we have secured legal changes. Now is the time to come together, to back this improved Brexit deal, and to deliver on the instruction of the British people.”
Sitting next to May, Jean-Claude Juncker warned MPs if they do not back the deal on Tuesday night “there will be no third chance” and warned: “It is this deal or Brexit might not happen at all.”
When May's withdrawal agreement was put to MPs in January, it was voted down by an historic margin of 230. If it's rejected again this evening, a further vote will be held tomorrow on whether the UK should leave without a deal.
If that no-deal option is rejected, MPs could get a vote on Thursday on whether to request a delay to Brexit from Brussels.
-
Strava vs. Garmin: the row splitting the running community
Under The Radar The legal dispute between the two titans of exercise tech is like ‘Mom and Dad fighting’
-
Bad Bunny: Why MAGA is incensed
Feature The NFL announced Latino artist Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime headliner, sparking MAGA outrage
-
Supreme Court: Judging 20 years of Roberts
Feature Two decades after promising to “call balls and strikes,” Chief Justice John Roberts faces scrutiny for reshaping American democracy
-
Taking the low road: why the SNP is still standing strong
Talking Point Party is on track for a fifth consecutive victory in May’s Holyrood election, despite controversies and plummeting support
-
Is Britain turning into ‘Trump’s America’?
Today’s Big Question Direction of UK politics reflects influence and funding from across the pond
-
Russian drone tests Romania as Trump spins
Speed Read Trump is ‘resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector’
-
What difference will the 'historic' UK-Germany treaty make?
Today's Big Question Europe's two biggest economies sign first treaty since WWII, underscoring 'triangle alliance' with France amid growing Russian threat and US distance
-
Viktor Orban: is time up for Europe's longest-serving premier?
Today's Big Question Hungarian PM's power is under threat 'but not in the way – or from the people – one might expect'
-
Entente cordiale: will state visit help UK-French relations get over Brexit?
Today's Big Question The King, a keen Francophile who has a warm relationship with Emmanuel Macron, will play a key role in state visit
-
Is the G7 still relevant?
Talking Point Donald Trump's early departure cast a shadow over this week's meeting of the world's major democracies
-
Angela Rayner: Labour's next leader?
Today's Big Question A leaked memo has sparked speculation that the deputy PM is positioning herself as the left-of-centre alternative to Keir Starmer