Next week MPs will take part in possibly the most important parliamentary vote in a generation.
They will be asked to decide whether to back the deal Prime Minister Theresa May has negotiated for the UK to leave the European Union.
The government has embarked on a frenzied campaign to get political and public backing for Mrs May’s Withdrawal Agreement but it is by no means certain that enough MPs will back the plan to get it through.
Both Brexiteers and Remainers in the House of Commons have deep reservations about the PM’s agreement – which has already been backed by Brussels.
Ahead of the December 11 vote, five days of Parliamentary debate will take place to look at key issues like the backstop - which could keep the UK tied to EU customs rules in the event no future trade deal can be agreed - and the £39 billion divorce bill as the Government seeks to bring sceptical MPs round.
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Among our 10 MPs in Leicester and Leicestershire are a senior Foreign Office minister who backs Mrs May, and an arch-Brexiteer who has made no secret of his scorn for her deal.
Some have already been writing to their constituents to set out where they stand.
Leicestershire Live has contacted them all trying to put them on the record about how they intend to vote next week.
Melton and Rutland MP Alan Duncan (Con) – Supports the deal
“This deal is the only deal that exists.
“Most of those who wish to vote it down either secretly want no deal at all, which would be a very costly mistake, or have no realistic alternative.
"I will vote for it and give my full support to the Prime Minister who is doing her utmost to act in the long term interests of the UK.”
South Leicestershire MP Alberto Costa (Con) - Supports the deal
“We have five days of debate on this and I’ll listen very carefully to what is said.
“One of the key issues for me is what this means for the rights of 3.6 million EU citizens in the UK and one million UK citizens in the EU.
“This deal gives absolute certainty to them.
“It also confirms the Good Friday Agreement will be honoured.
"There the Backstop but that is an insurance policy for an insurance policy. Politically it is in neither side’s interest to be in it.
“And when we started the negotiations last year the figure of £100 billion was what the EU wanted for a divorce bill. That has been negotiated down to £39 billion.
“This deal is not perfect but it is a compromise.
“People in my constituency voted by some way for Leave and that is what will happen under this deal.”
What Brexit means for Leicestershire
Harborough MP Neil O Brien (Con) – Supports the deal
“I think the Prime Minister’s proposed deal is our best and only chance of delivering a meaningful Brexit which respects the referendum result, and of unifying the country.”
Bosworth MP David Tredinnick (Con) - Undecided but...
“I can’t give a definitive answer at this stage. I hope to make a contribution to the debate and see what amendments there might be.
“But I am broadly supportive of the Government’s position.”
North West Leicestershire Andrew Bridgen (Con) - Opposes the deal
“The only thing that is good in this deal is the guarantee of reciprocal rights for EU and UK citizens.
“Other than that there’s nothing I could support. This isn’t the Brexit people want.
“We would hand over £39 billion – that’s £1,400 per UK household – which we were told would seal a free trade agreement with the EU.
“Now it seems that allows us only to begin discussing an agreement.
“We risk being trapped in the back stop taking orders from the EU.
“We would give away power not take it back and we would be captive to buying overpriced EU goods in perpetuity.”
Leicester West MP Liz Kendall (Lab) - Opposes the deal
“I know some people passionately want to stay in the EU, others are equally passionate about leaving.
"I also get the sense that lots of people just want this over and done with, and for the country and its politicians to move on.
“The problem is, Brexit won’t be “sorted” by May’s Agreement – far from it.
"Her plan is a recipe for continuing dispute and disagreement for years to come.
“Giving the public the final choice on where we go next, including whether we stick with the deal we currently have with the EU, may be the only way out of this cul-de-sac.
“This won’t be easy, but I cannot look my constituents in the eye and tell them I voted to make them poorer.”
Loughborough MP Nicky Morgan (Con) - Supports the deal
"The most likely alternative is we leave the EU with no deal at all and I believe that would be deeply damaging to our economy and our constituents.
"The ability to mitigate the damage caused by Brexit is best measured in protecting the jobs and financial security of my constituents.
"No deal was ever going to be perfect.
It would have been better if the Prime Minister had been honest about this in 2016 and not allowed people to think a Lancaster House-style Brexit was even remotely deliverable.
"There are 650 people in this country who now need to do their jobs.
"We need to act as representatives of our constituents and not on the basis of our personal ideologies or preferences. UK politics has been in a holding pattern since June 2016.
"We have to move on.
"We have many, many pressing issues that we need ministers and civil servants, no longer quite so distracted by Brexit, to tackle.
"We can only do that if we approve the withdrawal agreement, however imperfect it may be, so we can move forward as a country."
Leicester East MP Keith Vaz (Lab) - Opposes the deal
Mr Vaz said he would vote against the Withdrawal Agreement but did not say why.
Charnwood MP Ed Argar (Con) - Supports the deal
"I intend to vote for this deal, and support the Prime Minister, to ensure we deliver the smooth, orderly Brexit we committed to, and that we leave the EU next March.
"This deal isn't perfect, but we should not let pursuit of the perfect be the enemy of the good or the practical - a majority of my constituents voted to leave the EU and this deal honours that decision; to reject it could put that at risk, something I have no intention of doing."
Leicester South MP Jon Ashworth (Lab) - Opposes the deal
"I will definitely voting against it. The whole Tory handling of Brexit has been utterly shambolic.
"It is not in the interests of the people of Leicester South.
"It's particularly worrying for the NHS in the area and the university sector.
"If it is defeated, and it looks like it will be, Theresa May's authority to lead will have gone entirely.
"All options should be on the table but a General Election the best way forward."
