DEFIANT city MP and Brexit minister Robin Walker has pleaded with MPs to support Prime Minister Theresa May's deal in the crunch Parliament vote.

But his calls for "colleagues from all sides of the House" to back the European Union withdrawal agreement look set to fall on deaf ears - as political commentators are predicting another heavy defeat.

The ‘meaningful vote’ is set to take place in the next few hours. The last time the PM's withdrawal agreement was put to Parliament in January, it was voted down by a margin of 230.

Last night the PM flew to the European Parliament with Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay. It was announced a "joint legally binding instrument" on the withdrawal agreement, which the UK could use to start a "formal dispute" against the EU if it tried to keep the UK tied into the backstop indefinitely, was added to the withdrawal agreement.

But in a significant blow for the PM, earlier Attorney General Geoffrey Cox told MPs the legal risk of being tied to the EU after Brexit "remains unchanged".

Ahead of the key vote Mr Walker said: “I will support the Prime Minister to secure a deal to negotiate our exit from the EU, as I believe it is important to uphold the vote of the referendum.

"I believe that the deal being put forward to Parliament would deliver a better outcome for the United Kingdom than a no-deal”

“A second referendum would erode the very basis of democracy by suggesting that rule by the majority is an insufficient condition for democratic legitimacy, undermining all political decisions for the foreseeable future.

"It would cast a pall over political life in the UK, undermining national political institutions and delegitimising the very basis of democracy itself as a mode of collective decision making.

“I am confident that our strong economy will continue to deliver for the British people in all scenarios, but I want the strongest possible economy for the jobs and livelihoods of the people I represent and most of all I want to provide certainty to constituents and businesses; that is why I support this deal and why I encourage colleagues from all sides of the House to do the same.”

The vote is scheduled to take place at 7pm. Follow all the latest developments throughout the evening on our live blog.

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