'You would be voting for No Deal': Keir Starmer begs dozens of furious Labour MPs not to oppose Boris Johnson's Brexit pact as he says the 'thin' plan is the only way to bring 'closure'

Sir Keir Starmer begged dozens of furious Labour MPs not to oppose Boris Johnson's Brexit deal today.

Sir Keir urged his benches to support the historic trade pact in crunch votes this afternoon, saying the argument is 'over' and the issue must not dominate the next general election.

'Those that vote no are voting for no deal,' he said. 'Anyone choosing that option today knows there is no time to renegotiate, there is no better deal coming in the next 24 hours, no extensions, no humble addresses, no SO24s, so choosing that option leads to one place: No deal.

'Or we can take the only other option that is available and implement the treaty that has been negotiated.' 

However, more than 20 Labour MPs, including former shadow cabinet members Diane Abbott and John McDonnell, are expected to defy their leader to oppose the package, while Scottish Labour is joining Nicola Sturgeon in condemning the plan.

The rebellion underlines the festering divide within Labour over how to handle Brexit, and contrasts with the relative unity in Boris Johnson's ranks over the deal. 

The Prime Minister is crashing his accord through Parliament in a single day so that it is in place before the 'standstill' transition period ends at 11pm on December 31. 

A poll overnight suggests that Labour voters want the party to help pass the agreement with the EU. 

Sir Keir Starmer has told Labour MPs to back Boris Johnson's Brexit trade deal with the EU when it is put to a vote today

A poll overnight suggests that Labour voters want the party to help pass the agreement with the EU

More than 20 Labour MPs, including former shadow cabinet members Diane Abbott and John McDonnell, are expected to defy their leader to oppose the package

During the Commons debate this morning, Sir Keir called on Labour MPs to support the 'thin' post-Brexit free trade agreement, despite misgivings that it will fail to protect many key economic sectors.

He argued that the alternative of ending the transition period tomorrow night without a deal in place would be even worse for the economy.

'This is a thin deal, it has got many flaws,' he said. 'But a thin deal is better than no deal and not implementing this deal would mean immediate tariffs and quotas with the EU which would push up prices and drive businesses to the wall, it would mean huge gaps in security, a free for all on workers' rights and environmental protections and less stability for the Northern Ireland protocol.

'Leaving without a deal would also show that the UK isn't capable of agreeing the legal basis for our future relationship with our EU friends and partners and that matters because I want Britain to be an outward looking optimistic and rules based country, one that does deals, signs treaties and abides by them.'

He said: 'Those that vote no are voting for no deal… those voting no today want yes. They want others to save them from their own vote.

'They want others to save them from their own vote. Voting no, wanting yes. That is the truth of the situation and that is why my party has taken a different path.'

However, former shadow home secretary Ms Abbott said she would vote against the 'shoddy' Brexit deal.

Ms Abbott stressed her Eurosceptic credentials, including voting against the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 because of her concerns over its impact on democracy and accountability, telling MPs: 'By driving this historic deal through Parliament in one day with no time for proper scrutiny, this Government is trashing democracy.'

She said the deal 'falls short in many policy areas', including security, before concluding: 'I have the greatest respect for the result of the 2016 referendum, but this shoddy deal falls short.

'It fails the British people, it fails my constituents and I have to meet my responsibilities as a member of the British Parliament and vote against it today.' 

Another Labour MP, Kevin Brennan, said: 'This is a thin deal, it is a failure even on the Government's own terms, in short it is a bad deal and I won't be voting for it.' 

And Norwich MP Clive Lewis said: 'Change was demanded, more control was promised and yet what we are presented with today is ironically more of the same.

'Unaccountability, power concentrated in the hands of a few, an over-centralised Government evading scrutiny to act in favour of vested interests and impose decisions from the top down.

'I will play no part in giving this Government a blank cheque to bulldoze through democratic oversight and I will not be voting in support of this legislation.'

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has announced that he is opposed to the deal. 

'Boris Johnson promised more than a year ago that he would 'get Brexit done', and that his deal was 'oven ready' – yet his shambolic government is racing to ratify its half-baked Brexit deal the day before the end of the transition period,' Mr Leonard said.

'There is no co-production here; no engagement with industry, trade unions or devolved governments on the terms of this trade deal, and barely any parliamentary scrutiny let alone public participation.

'It is our duty to stand up for Scotland in Parliament tomorrow. But it is also our duty to protect Scottish businesses and jobs from the damage that this deal will do, and that means the SNP government must distribute the £300 million of Barnett consequentials to businesses as soon as possible.

'We cannot lose sight of the fact that our economy is still in the depths of another crisis that the SNP left Scotland unprepared for. It's time for a national plan for the Scottish economy.'

In an interview with the Guardian, Sir Keir said that allowing the Remain/Leave argument to close is among the reasons his party will vote for the deal.

He told the newspaper: 'I'm determined the next general election will be fought on our terms, not somebody else's terms.

'We've left the EU and the remain/leave argument is over. Amongst the reasons for voting for the deal is to allow that closure.

'In our general election campaign in 2024, we will be a future-looking Labour party and a future Labour government, not one that looks behind us.'

But Sir Keir's instruction to his MPs to vote with the Tories has prompted growing anger, with a number of senior party figures outlining their intention to defy the whip. 

Ms Abbott told constituents in Hackney: 'I will not be voting for Boris's Brexit deal.

'Like many Labour MPs, I was amazed that the Labour leader Keir Starmer announced that we were going to vote for the deal when nobody on the Labour side had actually seen it.'

Meanwhile, Mr McDonnell, former Cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw and former shadow business secretary Clive Lewis are among those to have signed a statement blasting Sir Keir for supporting Mr Johnson's 'rotten' deal. 

But Sir Keir is facing a growing Labour rebellion on the issue, with ex-shadow chancellor John McDonnell leading calls for the party not to support the 'rotten' accord 

The statement calls on all opposition parties not to support the agreement and warns Labour against 'falling into the trap' of backing it.  

The statement has been organised by the campaign groups Another Europe is Possible and Labour for a Socialist Europe – both on the left – but it has attracted support from both wings of the party. 

As well as Mr Bradshaw, the signatories also included ex-cabinet minister Lord Adonis from the Blairite wing of the party.

From the left, Mr McDonnell is joined by Mr Lewis as well as a number of former MEPs, councillors and party activists. 

The statement said: 'Given the Government's majority, it is a foregone conclusion that the deal will pass in parliament, but this deal will not 'get Brexit done': negotiations over trade and regulatory frameworks will go on and on for years to come. 

'The vital task now is opposition: proper parliamentary scrutiny of this and all future trade deals, and the setting out of an alternative future in which we not only regain the rights and jobs we have lost, but become a better and more equal society. 

'That task gets harder if opposition parties fall into the trap of rallying around this rotten deal.

'We call on Labour, the labour movement and other opposition parties not to support the Tories' Brexit deal when it is put to a vote in the House of Commons.'

Labour MP Rupa Huq told Times Radio yesterday she believes 'more than 20' of her colleagues will rebel against Sir Keir and vote against the deal.  

A new poll by Opinium showed that 43 per cent of Labour voters believe the party should vote for the deal while 21 per cent believe it should vote against.

Even Labour voters who backed Remain believe the party should support the accord, by 41 per cent to 24 per cent. 

Labour is alone among the opposition parties in saying it will support the deal – with the SNP and the Liberal Democrats having said they will vote against it.

The DUP – which backed Brexit – has also said it will oppose the deal because the Brexit divorce settlement imposes customs checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.    

MPs and peers have been recalled from their Christmas break to debate and vote on the deal. 

The PM's 80-seat majority and the backing of a majority of Labour MPs means the accord's passage through the House of Commons and the Lords should be relatively smooth sailing.  

The Government is aiming for the Future Relationship Bill, which will enshrine the PM's deal into British law, to clear Parliament by 10pm or 11pm this evening. 

The Queen is then expected to grant the legislation Royal Assent by midnight, bringing it into force with one day to spare before the end of the transition period.