WITH the key Brexit vote in the House of Commons now almost upon us - Stourbridge MP Margot James has said she would be "delighted but surprised" if the Prime Minister's deal goes through.

Ms James, Minister of State for Digital and the Creative Industries, has confirmed she will support Theresa May's Brexit deal and vote with the government in tonight's crunch vote in Parliament.

But she admitted: "The deal is a compromise, but it does enable us to leave the EU whilst protecting our economy and people’s jobs. And importantly, the deal is supported by the majority of employers, many of whom, like the majority of Trade Unions, would prefer to remain in the EU and not leave at all."

The Conservative MP said she went against her own judgement to vote in favour of leaving the EU back in December 2016 as two thirds of her constituents in Stourbridge voted to leave in the Referendum and she has vowed to "follow through on that commitment".

She added: "Should the deal not be passed today I will continue to support efforts to find a deal between the UK and the EU, upon which Parliament can agree, and which provides the basis for our leaving the EU on March 29 this year. A revised deal might take various forms, some of which cannot necessarily be anticipated even at this late stage.

"There may be scope for the Prime Minister to obtain further concessions from the EU. However, the EU have been pretty clear that although they might give more assurances and clarifications, they are not prepared to reopen the negotiations that underpinned the agreement they signed before Christmas. Neither are they prepared to let Ireland, a small member state, down in order to pacify a large member state, the UK, which has decided to leave the EU.

"Some MPs in both the main parties are pushing the idea that the UK should instead try to negotiate a similar arrangement to that which Norway or other EEA or EFTA countries have with the EU.

"My view is that the Prime Minister's deal provides a solution, albeit a compromise, that respects the result of the referendum more fully than the Norway model.

"Parliament needs to support this deal today in order to honour the wishes of the majority as expressed in the referendum, in a way which respects the views of the large minority who voted to remain.

"I hope the deal will pass because if it, or something similar, fails to get the support of Parliament then the consequence might either be our departure at the end of March with no deal, or an extension of Article 50 and preparations for a referendum.

"Both these remaining options are undesirable, very much so, and I will do all I can to work with other MPs of like mind to make sure we don’t end up in either situation.

"Ultimately, however, I will never be a party to the UK leaving the EU without any deal whatsoever."