YOU DEMAND: DO THE DEAL

EXCLUSIVE: Mail poll reveals Britain wants MPs to stop the delay – and back Boris today

VOTERS last night threw their weight behind Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. On the eve of today’s dramatic Commons vote on his withdrawal plan, 50 per cent said MPs should back it. The Survation poll for the Daily Mail showed 38 per cent were against the deal with 12 per cent undecided.

The survey found a surge in support for the Tories following the Prime Minister’s breakthrough at this week’s EU summit. They are now on 32 per cent, five points up on their tally three weeks ago. Optimism was mounting in No 10 last night that MPs will back the agreement. A source said: ‘It is incredibly close, but it is doable.’

However the situation became even more tense when Sir Oliver Letwin tabled a plan to force Mr Johnson to seek another delay

to Brexit. The move by the Tory former Cabinet minister, which is set to be backed by Labour and other opposition parties, could deny the PM a clear-cut vote on his deal today. On a day of high drama:

France’s Emmanuel Macron piled pressure on Remainer MPs by warning he could veto any further Brexit delay;

Tory aides acknowledged that Sir Oliver’s move could force Mr Johnson to consider seeking another delay;

Seven Labour MPs publicly backed the deal, despite threats that they could be deselected – a further 15 are said to be considering the move;

Campaigners pushing for a second referendum were planning a huge march on Parliament today;

Hardline ‘Spartan’ MPs prepared to meet this morning to decide whether to back Mr Johnson’s deal, amid signs that a hardcore will refuse;

The Governor of the Bank of England threw his weight behind the deal, describing it as ‘good news’;

David Trimble, an architect of the Good Friday Agreement, urged the DUP to drop its opposition;

Mr Johnson held out an olive branch to Labour MPs by pledging an automatic right to vote on whether to adopt future EU laws on workers’ rights;

Socialist leaders across the EU urged Jeremy Corbyn to back the deal.

Today’s poll shows that 47 per cent of people say they support the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal, while 38 per cent say they are against it.

Voters were also in no doubt as to who blinked first in the EU talks – with 52 per cent saying the UK gave most ground.

‘Huge march on Parliament’

Only 20 per cent think Brussels backed down. A total of 47 per cent believe Mr Johnson’s plan should go to a referendum, compared with 44 against.

When voters are given a straight choice between the Prime Minister’s deal and remaining in the EU there is a deadheat, with both sides winning 50 per cent. Remarkably, 29 per cent of Labour voters say they would back Mr Johnson’s deal in such a referendum.

The poll showed that most of the extra backing for the Tories was at the expense of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, whose support has fallen by 3 points.

The results of the survey heap more humiliation on beleaguered Mr Corbyn. One in five of his own Labour voters would rather see Mr Johnson in Downing Street. Millions of Labour supporters have written off his chances of ever seizing power.

Asked who they thought will win the next election, just 31 per cent of Labour voters think Mr Corbyn: exactly the same number, 31 per cent, say Mr Johnson will beat him.

If Mr Johnson delivers his pledge to leave the EU by October 31, he can expect a further surge in his ratings. A total of 33 per cent say they will be more likely to vote Conservative; 23 per cent say they will be less likely to do so.

Moreover, if MPs throw out his proposal today, voters will not point the finger of blame at him.

A total of 42 per cent say they will hold Parliament responsible for the delay – twice the number, 21 per cent, who say Mr Johnson will have only himself to blame.

More than one in two (52 per cent) say the new deal ‘honours the 2016 referendum’ compared with fewer than one in three (30 per cent) who say it does not.

Asked who has the best Brexit policy, Mr Johnson is way ahead of all the main party leaders; Mr Corbyn trails in last behind Mr Farage in second place, followed by SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson.

The chasm between Mr Johnson and Mr Corbyn’s respective personal standing is illustrated by their ratings on ‘charisma’.

Here the Prime Minister scores plus 16 compared with Mr Corbyn’s minus 59.

For ‘intelligence’, Mr Johnson is plus 36 compared with the opposition leader’s minus seven.

A total of 41 per cent oppose the decision by Northern Ireland’s DUP to defy Mr Johnson today; seen as the main obstacle to him succeeding; 28 per cent say the DUP are right to oppose him.

Last night, Mr Johnson said the showdown in the House of Commons was a ‘very big moment for our country’.

He said: ‘I think that getting it done would be a chance for us to come together as a country and move on and focus on things that really matter to people.

‘The sigh of relief that would go up, not just around Britain, but around the world, would be very, very large and passionate.’

The Prime Minister also insisted his deal was the best divorce agreement possible. With no Commons majority and the DUP dismissing his plan, the Prime Minister must appeal for support from the Tory rebels he expelled and Labour MPs wanting to avoid a deal-less departure.

Sir Oliver said that the amendment would make it easier for Labour MPs to vote with the Government.

Survation interviewed 1,025 adults online on Thursday afternoon and yesterday.

AS they look in the mirror today, MPs must ask themselves this question.

Will I fight to free Britain from the constitutional quagmire it has been stuck in for three long years?

Or will I put animosity and misplaced party loyalties first, and condemn my constituents to endless Brexit torture?

That is the choice for this first Saturday sitting in 37 years. Will it be progress – or further paralysis?

There’s no question what the public wants. Exhausted by years of deadlock, our poll shows they’ve had enough.

Half of respondents believe MPs should approve the Brexit deal today, against just 38 per cent who don’t.

And significantly, if it fails, only 21 per cent believe it would be solely Boris Johnson’s fault – with twice that number blaming Parliament.

This augurs well for the Prime Minister in a future election – as does the five-point spike in the party’s overall poll lead.

But the wider truth is that Britain needs its democratic institutions to start working again. While the Commons has been bickering over Brexit, the things people really care about – the NHS, schools, law and order – are being neglected.

Stagnation has become the norm. Worse still, the opposition parties constantly whine that Mr Johnson is not fit for office, yet don’t have the guts to call an election.

So will our zombie Parliament redeem itself by passing this deal?

Sadly, the DUP won’t support it because of issues over the new customs arrangements and consent. (This, despite the fact that Lord Trimble, that giant of Ulster Unionism, is fully behind it).

Without them, the Prime Minister must win over three other groups to prevail – his own ERG hardliners, the 21 MPs he expelled from the party last month for voting against him and around 20 Labour MPs who represent Leave-voting constituencies.

There’s no doubt this latter group has a dilemma.

On one hand are their constituents, who want Brexit done. On the other is their party leadership who apparently don’t.

We say apparently, because they change their mind so often that it’s hard to tell.

They say this deal is a ruse; that Mr Johnson is a Right-wing extremist, bent on using it to dilute workers’ rights.

It’s utter rot, of course. Boris is the very model of a liberal One-Nation Tory, as his time as London mayor proved.

But today’s Labour is not interested in the truth – only in trashing any proposal the Government suggests.

Defying the party whip is never easy. But we hope the Labour dissenters will refuse to be bullied, act on their conscience and back this deal.

They – and the Tory 21 – must also disregard the siren voices of those who, even at this late stage, want to inflict yet more delay on the long-suffering public.

An amendment from Sir Oliver Letwin and supported by Labour would withhold Commons approval of the deal until all legislation required to enact it was completed.

While not a killer blow, under the Benn Act, this would almost certainly force the Prime Minister to request a further extension of Article 50. Really, haven’t we had enough extensions already?

Meanwhile, there’s also talk of a Liberal Democrat plot for a second referendum – a divisive exercise which would solve nothing. It would just create more delay. Delay, delay, delay.

It’s no exaggeration to say MPs hold this country’s future prosperity and wellbeing in their hands today.

We appeal to them to stop dithering and get the deal done. For all our sakes, end this agonising limbo and let the country finally move forward.

Enough procrastination. The time is now!