British Prime Minister Theresa May has told MPs to hold their nerve over Brexit and give her more time to negotiate a deal acceptable to both the European Union and the British parliament.
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The United Kingdom is on course to leave the European Union on March 29 without a deal unless May can persuade the bloc to amend the divorce deal she agreed last year and get it approved by British lawmakers.
"The talks are at a crucial stage", May told parliament.
"We now all need to hold our nerve to get the changes this House requires and deliver Brexit on time".
The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, accused her of running down the clock with sham negotiations to pressure parliament into backing her deal.
After talks in Strasbourg at the European Parliament, UK Brexit minister Stephen Barclay said there was "a lot of goodwill on both sides" to achieve a deal.
However, Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit pointman, said he has yet to hear of a proposal to break the deadlock.
"What are these negotiations at a 'crucial state' raised in the House of Commons? The way forward is cross-party, not kicking the can towards a disastrous no deal", he said on Twitter.
British MPs rejected May's withdrawal deal last month, with the major sticking point being the Irish "backstop" - an insurance policy to prevent the return of a hard border between British province Northern Ireland and EU-member Ireland.
Critics of the backstop say it could leave Britain subject to EU rules for years after leaving the bloc or even indefinitely.
The EU has refused to reopen the Brexit divorce deal, though May insists she can get legally binding changes to replace the most contentious parts of the backstop.
May is pursuing three options in talks with Brussels: negotiating a way for Britain to leave the backstop without needing EU agreement, agreeing a time limit to the backstop, or finding an alternative arrangement that replaces it altogether.
The UK Parliament is to hold a debate on Brexit on February 14 but with just 45 days until Britain leaves the bloc it is not expected to change the course of the exit process, and no date has been set for another vote to approve or reject May's deal.
Opponents of Brexit argue May is deliberately delaying so Parliament will be faced with the option of backing her agreement or leaving without a deal, a disorderly exit that businesses fear will cause widespread damage to the economy and jobs.
Australian Associated Press
