Watch live: MPs vote on withdrawal agreement

British members of parliament will vote on part of the UK-EU Brexit deal at 1530 CET on Friday , as Theresa May makes a final effort to keep her plan alive and secure an orderly exit date of May 22. Theresa May will address the house first after opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn asked the house to vote the deal down. The vote will be on the Withdrawal Agreement covering the terms of the UK’s departure, but not on the Political Declaration over future relations. Both were negotiated by London and Brussels and approved by the other 27 EU governments. The prime minister has twice failed to get her EU divorce deal passed by MPs, suffering heavy defeats in the House of Commons each time. Follow live updates here: What’s the reason for the vote? Friday’s vote on one part of the deal has a dual purpose: to beat an EU deadline under the revised Brexit timetable and secure a slightly longer extension, and to conform to a UK parliamentary demand that a different vote be put forward. If MPs vote yes: the UK would be on course to leave the EU on May 22 . This is the Brexit date set by the EU if the British parliament passes the Withdrawal Agreement by the end of this week. The WA is the legally-binding part of the deal covering the divorce bill, citizens’ rights, the Irish border, and establishing a transition period. The Political Declaration would still have to be passed later under UK law. If MPs vote no: Brexit is set to happen on April 12 if the Withdrawal Agreement is not passed. To avoid a “no-deal” scenario, London would be expected to “indicate a way forward before this date”. A longer delay would involve the UK taking part in European Parliament elections in May. In the two previous votes in parliament, MPs have considered together the Withdrawal Agreement on the UK’s exit terms and the Political Declaration on future ties. Friday’s vote will see them split both parts for the first time. Parliamentary approval of the overall deal is needed for its measures to take effect. The Labour opposition has claimed that, legally, the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration cannot be split. It fears the government is setting a trap which could see alternative Brexit options ruled out. MPs are due to continue trying to build a consensus on a way forward with more “indicative votes” on Monday. No proposal secured a majority in the first series of votes earlier this week. What is the motion being debated? The motion being debated on Friday is as follows: That this House notes the European Council Decision of 22 March 2019 taken in agreement with the United Kingdom extending the period under Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union, which provides for an extension to the Article 50 period to 22 May 2019 only if the House of Commons approves the Withdrawal Agreement by 29 March 2019; notes that if the House does not do so by that date the Article 50 period will only as a matter of law be extended to 12 April 2019 and that any extension beyond 22 May 2019 would require the UK to bring forward the necessary Day of Poll Order to hold elections to the European Parliament; notes that Article 184 of the Withdrawal Agreement refers to the Political Declaration between the UK and EU agreed on 25 November 2018, but that the EU has stated it remains open to negotiating changes to the Political Declaration; notes that the House is currently undertaking deliberations to identify whether there is a design for the future relationship that commands its support; notes that even should changes be sought to the Political Declaration, leaving the European Union with a deal still requires the Withdrawal Agreement; declares that it wishes to leave the EU with an agreement as soon as possible and does not wish to have a longer extension; therefore approves the Withdrawal Agreement, the Joint Instrument and the Unilateral Declaration laid before the House on 11 March 2019 so that the UK can leave the EU on 22 May 2019;notes that this approval does not by itself meet the requirements of section 13(1)(b) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act; and resolves that it is content to proceed to the next steps of this process, including fulfilling section 13 of this Act. Last-gasp effort The rushed nature of recent proceedings is largely due to the following EU stipulation from the European Council conclusions of 21 March. The key section (3) reads: "The European Council agrees to an extension until 22 May 2019, provided the Withdrawal Agreement is approved by the House of Commons next week. If the Withdrawal Agreement is not approved by the House of Commons next week , the European Council agrees to an extension until 12 April 2019 and expects the United Kingdom to indicate a way forward before this date for consideration by the European Council." From this article, it is implicit that parliament must, therefore, gain approval for the Withdrawal Agreement by end of play Friday. Splitting the Brexit deal into two MPs will be asked to vote only on the withdrawal agreement. This means that the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration — which have come in the same package until now — would be separated into two votes. The long withdrawal agreement (on the terms of the UK’s exit) and shorter Political Declaration (on the future relationship) were the result of nearly two years of negotiations between London and Brussels. The deal was approved by the British government and the other 27 EU countries in November. This does, however, mean the government cannot be certain of a full-on win as they will have to present a bill to parliament at a later date. "You cannot separate the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration" Speaking at the annual British Chambers of Commerce, Labour's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said that it was not possible to separate the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration. "That would mean leaving the EU with absolutely no idea of where we are heading," he said. "That cannot be acceptable. "We would not vote for that." "As president Juncker and President Tusk made clear in a written letter to the prime minister on the 14th of January, these were their words: 'As for the link between the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration….it can be made clear that these two documents, while being of a different nature, are part of the same negotiated package'”. Starmer said May later told the Commons that: “There was absolute clarity on the explicit linkage between the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration.” What is the withdrawal agreement? The legally-binding Withdrawal Agreement would establish a “transition or implementation period” to run after Brexit until the end of 2020, during which many existing arrangements would stay in place. It covers the financial settlement between the UK and the EU, citizens' rights and the controversial backstop. What is the political declaration? The shorter and not legally binding declaration political declaration sets out the basis for future relations, including trade. The last two occasions the government's Brexit deal was presented to Parliament, the two documents were voted on together. READ MORE: What’s in Theresa May's Brexit deal and why is it so unpopular? READ MORE: What you need to know about the draft deal on post-Brexit ties Reactions While May has cleverly separated the two parts of the Brexit deal to get it approved for a third vote by the speaker John Bercow, some MPs are still not buying it. Mp Liz Saville Roberts from the Welsh party Plaid Cymru said her party would be voting against it because "voting for the Withdrawal Agreement without Political Declaration would be a leap in the dark." The Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake questioned the legality of the vote even though attorney general Geoffrey Cox said the vote was lawful. But others like MP Lucy Allan tried to persuade her colleagues to vote for Friday’s deal. However, May’s latest move is not enough to convince Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn who called for a general election.